Spin-lattice relaxation time of Yb3+ in YbCl3·6H2O

Temperature dependence of experimentally determined spin-lattice relaxation time τ_Yb of Yb³⁺ ions in YbCl₃·6H₂O single crystals is examined. It is found that τ_Yb has different temperature dependences in the temperature ranges 2–30 K, 30–77 K, 150–300 K. In particular, Raman mechanisms are found to be predominant in the temperature ranges 2–30 K and 150–300 K, while the direct process is predominant in the range 30–77 K.     

Anisotropic properties of TaS2

The anisotropic properties of 1T- and 2H-TaS2 axe investigated by the density functional theory within the framework of full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. The band structures of 1T- and 2H-TaS2 exhibit anisotropic properties and the calculated electronic specific-heat coefficient γ of 2H-TaS2 accords well with the existing experimental value. The anisotropic frequency-dependent dielectric functions including the effect of the Drude term are analysed, where the ε^xx（ω） spectra corresponding to the electric field E perpendicular to the z axis show excellent agreement with the measured results except for the ε1^xx（ω） of 1T-TaS2 below the energy level of 2.6 eV which is due to the lack of the enough CDW information for reference in our calculation. Furthermore, based on the values of optical effective mass ratio P of 1T and 2H phases it is found that the anisotropy in 2H-TaS2 is stronger than that in 1T-TaS2.     

What are normal relaxation times of tissues at 3 T?

The T₁ and T₂ relaxation times are the basic parameters behind magnetic resonance imaging. The accurate knowledge of the T₁ and T₂ values of tissues allows to perform quantitative imaging and to develop and optimize magnetic resonance sequences. A vast extent of methods and sequences has been developed to calculate the T₁ and T₂ relaxation times of different tissues in diverse centers. Surprisingly, a wide range of values has been reported for similar tissues (e.g. T₁ of white matter from 699 to 1735 ms and T₂ of fat from 41 to 371 ms), and the true values that represent each specific tissue are still unclear, which have deterred their common use in clinical diagnostic imaging. This article presents a comprehensive review of the reported relaxation times in the literature in vivo at 3 T for a large span of tissues. It gives a detailed analysis of the different methods and sequences used to calculate the relaxation times, and it explains the reasons of the spread of reported relaxation times values in the literature.     

Observation of anomalously fast diffusion in 3He–4He solid solutions near the BCC-HCP transition

The pulsed NMR technique was used to investigate diffusion on the BCC-HCP phase-equilibrium and melting curves of a dilute solution of ³He in ⁴He. The contributions from all coexisting phases were identified using the spin-echo method. It is established that, along with the contributions from the equilibrium BCC and HCP phases or from bulk liquid (in the melting curve measurements), there is an additional diffusional process that is characterized by an anomalously high diffusion coefficient. It is found that the latter is close to the diffusion coefficient in liquid helium, while the diffusion itself is spatially restricted. The observed effect may be caused by the formation of liquid droplets in the course of the BCC-HCP transition.     

Measurement scheme to detect α relaxation time of glass-forming liquid

A measurement scheme for detecting the α relaxation time(τ) of glass-forming liquid is proposed, which is based on the measured ionic conductivity of the liquid doped with probing ions by low-and middle-frequency dielectric spectroscopy and according to the Nernst–Einstein, Stokes–Einstein, and Maxwell equations. The obtained τ values of glycerol and propylene carbonate by the scheme are consistent with those obtained by traditional dielectric spectroscopy, which confirms its reliability and accuracy. Moreover, the τ of 1,2-propanediol in a larger temperature range is compared with existing data.     

Anisotropic hyperfine interactions limit the efficiency of spin-exchange optical pumping of ³He nuclei

We use accurate ab initio and quantum scattering calculations to demonstrate that the maximum 3He spin polarization that can be achieved in spin-exchange collisions with potassium (3?K) and silver (1??Ag) atoms is limited by the anisotropic hyperfine interaction. We find that spin exchange in Ag-He collisions occurs much faster than in K-He collisions over a wide range of temperatures (10-600 K). Our analysis indicates that measurements of trap loss rates of 2S atoms in the presence of cold 3He gas may be used to probe anisotropic spin-dependent interactions in atom-He collisions.     

Transport and relaxation properties of isotopomeric hydrogen–helium binary mixtures. II. HD,D2, T2–He mixtures

The comprehensive comparison between calculated bulk non-equilibrium properties of hydrogen–helium isotopomeric mixtures and experiment that has previously been carried out for H₂–helium mixtures [2004, Molec. Phys., submitted] has been extended to mixtures of HD, D₂ and T₂ with ³He and ⁴He. For HD–⁴He mixtures, comparison is also made, where possible, with previous calculations of Köhler and Schaefer [1983, Physica A, 120, 185]. The phenomena examined herein include low temperature interaction second virial coefficients, binary diffusion and thermal conductivity coefficients, rotational relaxation, transport property field effects and flow birefringence. Scattering calculations have been carried out for the HD–He PES of Schaefer and Köhler [1985, Physica A, 129, 469], and for both the Köhler–Schaefer and Tao [1994, J. chem. Phys., 100, 4947] potential surfaces for the D₂–He and T₂–He interactions. Comparisons between calculated and experimental results for HD, D₂, T₂–He mixtures confirm the conclusion, reached earlier from the H₂–He comparisons, that these potential surfaces are very close to the correct one for the hydrogen–helium interaction, and that the small differences between them cannot be distinguished readily by measurements of bulk gas phenomena unless the attendant experimental uncertainties are better than ±0.3%.     

Nonadiabatic effects on rotating-frame dipolar relaxation time (T1Dϱ) measurements

Application of the T_1Dϱ pulse sequence often leads to a two-component relaxation decay due to nonadiabatic effects near the magic angle ≡m which creates a serious danger of T_1Dϱ, misinterpretation. These effects were studied in detail for various fluorides and it was discovered that three different sources of nonadiabaticity may occur during T_1Dϱ measurements.     

In vivo relaxation time measurements on a murine tumor model—Prolongation of T1 after photodynamic therapy

RIF tumors implanted on mice feet were investigated for changes in relaxation times (T₁ and T₂) after photodynamic therapy (PDT). Photodynamic therapy was performed using Photofrin II as the photosensitizer and laser light at 630 nm. A home-built proton solenoid coil in the balanced configuration was used to accommodate the tumors, and the relaxation times were measured before, immediately after, and up to several hours after therapy. Several control experiments were performed using the untreated tumors, tumors treated with Photofrin II alone, or tumors treated with laser light alone. Significant increases in T₁s of water protons were observed after PDT treatment. In all experiments, ³¹P spectra were recorded before and after the therapy to study the tumor status and to confirm the onset of PDT. These studies show significant prolongation of T₁s after the PDT treatment. The spin-spin relaxation measurements, on the other hand, did not show such prolongation in T₂ values after PDT treatment.     

Anisotropic optical properties of single-crystal GdBa2Cu3O7−δ

The optical spectrum of reduced-T _c GdBa₂Cu₃O_7– has been measured for polarizations parallel and perpendicular to theab plane. The sample was an oxygen-deficient single crystal with a large face containing thec axis. The polarized reflectance from this face was measured from 20–300 K in the spectral region from 30–3000 cm^–1, with 300 K data to 30000 cm^–1. Kramers-Kronig analysis was used to determine the spectral dependence of theab and thec components of the dielectric tensor. The optical properties are strongly anisotropic. Theab-plane response resembles that of other reduced-T _c materials whereas thec axis, in contrast, shows only the presence of several phonons. There is a complete absence of charge carrier response alongc aboveand belowT _c. This observation allows us to set an upper limit to the free-carrier spectral weight for transport perpendicular to the CuO₂ planes.Permanent address: Institute of Physics, CSAV, Prague, Czechoslovakia     

Assessing the use of 3H–3He dating to determine the subsurface transit time of cave drip waters

³H–³He measurements constitute a well-established method for the determination of the residence time of young groundwater. However, this method has rarely been applied to karstified aquifers and in particular to drip water in caves, despite the importance of the information which may be obtained. Besides the determination of transfer times of climate signals from the atmosphere through the epikarst to speleothems as climate archives, ³H–³He together with Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe data may also help to give new insights into the local hydrogeology, e.g. the possible existence of a perched aquifer above a cave. In order to check the applicability of ³H–³He dating to cave drips, we collected drip water samples from three adjacent caves in northwestern Germany during several campaigns. The noble gas data were evaluated by inverse modelling to obtain recharge temperature and excess air, supporting the calculation of the tritiogenic ³He and hence the ³H–³He age. Although atmospheric noble gases were often found to be close to equilibrium with the cave atmosphere, several drip water samples yielded an elevated ³He/⁴He ratio, providing evidence for the accumulation of ³He from the decay of ³H. No significant contribution of radiogenic ⁴He was found, corresponding to the low residence times mostly in the range of one to three years. Despite complications during sampling, conditions of a perched aquifer could be confirmed by replicate samples at one drip site. Here, the excess air indicator ΔNe was about 10 %, comparable to typical values found in aquifers in mid-latitudes. The mean ³H–³He age of 2.1 years at this site presumably refers to the residence time in the perched aquifer and is lower than the entire transit time of 3.4 years estimated from the tritium data.     

Dependencies of multi-component T2 and T1ρ relaxation on the anisotropy of collagen fibrils in bovine nasal cartilage

Both NMR spectroscopy and MRI were used to investigate the dependencies of multi-component T2 and T1ρ relaxation on the anisotropy of bovine nasal cartilage (BNC). The non-negative least square (NNLS) method and the multi-exponential fitting method were used to analyze all experimental data. When the collagen fibrils in nasal cartilage were oriented at the magic angle (55°) to the magnetic field B0, both T2 and T1ρ were single component, regardless of the spin-lock field strength or the echo spacing time in the pulse sequences. When the collagen fibrils in nasal cartilage were oriented at 0° to B0, both T2 and T1ρ at a spin-lock field of 500 Hz had two components. When the spin-lock field was increased to 1000 Hz or higher, T1ρ relaxation in nasal cartilage became a single component, even when the specimen orientation was 0°. These results demonstrate that the specimen orientation must be considered for any multi-component analysis, even for nasal cartilage that is commonly considered homogenously structured. Since the rapidly and slowly relaxing components can be attributed to different portions of the water population in tissue, the ability to resolve different relaxation components could be used to quantitatively examine individual molecular components in connective tissues.     

The adiabatic calorimetry study of the polymorphism of solid 4,4′-Di-n-Butyloxyazoxybenzene

Specific heat measurements for 4-OAOB using adiabatic calorimetry are presented in the temperature range 290 K to 380 K. In the solid state three anomalies are found in the specific heat curve, at 315.5 K, 323.3 K and 360.5 K. A new solid phase is found in addition to those previously reported. Some observations concerning the kinetics of the phase transitions are also presented.     

3He(e,e′pp) and 3He(e,e′pn) reactions at AmPS and MAMI

This paper reports on measurements of the ³He(e,e′pp) reaction measured at AmPS and the ³He(e,e′pn) reaction measured at MAMI. The measurements were performed in similar kinematics to allow a comparison to be made between the cross sections of the two reactions. Results are shown for both reactions together with a comparison for the ³He(e,e′pp) data with continuum Faddeev calculations.     

Bi-phase age-related brain gray matter magnetic resonance T1ρ relaxation time change in adults

ObjectivesTo investigate normative value and age-related change of brain magnetic resonance T1ρ relaxation at 1.5 T.MethodsThis study was approved by the local ethical committee with participants' written consent obtained. There were 42 adults healthy volunteers, including 20 males (age: 41 ± 16 (mean ± standard deviation) years, range: 22–68 years,) and 22 females (age: 39 ± 15 years, range: 21–62 years). MRI was performed at 1.5 T using 3D fluid suppressed turbo spin echo sequence. Regions-of-interests (ROIs) were obtained by atlas-based tissue segmentation and T1ρ was calculated by fitting the mean value to mono-exponential model. Correlation between T1ρ relaxation of brain gray matter regions and age was investigated.ResultsA regional difference among individual gray matter areas was noted; the highest values were observed in the hippocampus (98.37 ± 5.37 ms, median: 97.88 ms) and amygdala (94.95 ± 4.34 ms, median: 94.73 ms), while the lowest values were observed in the pallidum (83.81 ± 5.49 ms, median: 83.77 ms) and putamen (83.93 ± 4.76 ms, median: 83.99 ms). Gray matter T1ρ values decreased slowly (mean slope: − 0.256) and significantly (p < 0.05) with age in gray matter for subjects younger than 40 years old, while for subjects older than 40 years old there was no apparent correlation between T1ρ relaxation and age. Global white matter measured T1ρ value of 88.65 ± 3.47 ms (median: 87.86 ms), and the correlation with age was not significant (p = 0.18).ConclusionGray matter T1ρ relaxation demonstrates a bi-phase change with age in adults of 22–68 years.     

Production of high energy deuterons in the reaction:3He+3He→4He+2H+e ++v

Experiments on the reaction:³He+³He→⁴He+²He using a single four detector telescope have shown evidence for the production of deuteron pulses, consistent with the²He→²H+e⁺+v fusion reaction in the final state. New measurements on the same reaction using improved techniques viz.A) a windowless³He gas target andB) α- d correlation detection with 5 ns resolving time and antipileup circuitry have been performed. Calibrations were obtained from the⁷Li+³He→²H+⁴He+⁴He reaction spectra. The correlation angles were 30° and 97° for the alphas and deuterons respectively. Deuteron pulses have been observed, correlated with alpha particles. A cross section of (1.7 ±0.5)nbsr^?1MeV^?1 was obtained consistent with previous measurements using a single telescope.     

Semisuperfluidity of 3He in aerogel?

According to hydrodynamic, acoustic, and NMR studies the superfluid transition temperature of 3He in aerogel ( T(a)(c)) is significantly suppressed with respect to that of bulk 3He. We have found in the range of temperatures between T(c) and T(a)(c) a large and unexpected NMR satellite line attributable to the liquid inside the aerogel. We propose that this anomalous behavior of liquid 3He corresponds to a new type of superfluid ordering related to magnetic and possibly orbital coherence.     

Simulation of Anisotropic Resistivity for Mixed-Phase Manganite La2／3Ca1／3MnO3 Thin Films

We utilize the random network model based on phase separation scenario to simulate the conductive behaviour and anisotropic characteristics of resistivity for La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) thin films. The simulated results agree well with our experimental data, showing a metal-to-insulator transition from a high-T paramagnetic (PM) insulating phase to a low-T ferromagnetic (FM) metallic phase in both the untilted film deposited on a (001) SrTiO3 (STO) substrate and the tilted film grown on a vicinal cut STO substrate. It is found that the resistivity of the tilted sample is higher than that of the untilted one, displaying prominent anisotropic characteristics. The studies reveal that the tilting not only decreases the conduction of the FM domains, but also increases the activation energy of the PM regions, inducing the enhancement of resistivity. All those results suggest that the intrinsic inhomogeneity in the phase separation system plays a significant role in the electrical conductivity and the resistive anisotropy is related to the structure of the crystal lattice.     

Investigation of the parametric excitation and relaxation of phonons in antiferromagnetic α-Fe2O3

Parametric excitation of magnetoelastic waves was investigated in the easy-plane antiferromagnet α-Fe₂O₃ by parallel and perpendicular microwave pumping over a wide range of frequencies, magnetic fields, and temperatures, and the parametric resonance thresholds were measured. The frequencies of the natural magnetoelastic vibrations of the sample were investigated as a function of the magnetic field and temperature. The results of the measurements were used to calculate the parameters of the magnetoelastic wave spectrum and the rate of relaxation of the excited quasi-phonons. Possible mechanisms for quasi-phonon damping were analyzed.     

Low-temperature synthesis of T′-La2CuO4 using CaH2 as reductant

We have successfully synthesized polycrystalline bulk samples of La₂CuO₄ with the Nd₂CuO₄-type (T′) structure at low temperatures. First of all, La₂CuO₄ with the K₂NiF₄-type (T) structure was prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction. Secondly, La₂CuO_3.5+δ with the Sr₂CuO₃-type structure was obtained by heating mixed powder of T-La₂CuO₄ and CaH₂ at 175 °C in an evacuated Pyrex tube. Thirdly, T′-La₂CuO_4+δ was prepared by heating La₂CuO_3.5+δ at 250 °C in air. Finally, T′-La₂CuO_4+δ was reduced using CaH₂ to remove excess oxygen. The powder X-ray diffraction pattern has revealed that the product is of the single phase of T′-La₂CuO₄, but no superconductivity has been observed at T > 2 K in the magnetic susceptibility measurement. The residual excess oxygen may suppress the appearance of superconductivity.