Nuclear spin relaxation of 8Li adsorbed on surfaces

Nuclear spin relaxation experiments with ⁸Li adsorbed on various surfaces provide new information in surface science which is not obtainable othervise. Both dipolar (Korringa) and quadrupolar relaxation due to diffusion are observed. However, in addition, a fast and presently not understood spin relaxation mechanism is present while dosing during the first 0.5 s the surface with polarized ⁸Li. Most strange in this respect is the fact that those ⁸Li atoms which survive depolarization through this mechanism depolarize afterwards with modest spin lattice relaxation rates. The origin of the fast spin lattice relaxation mechanism is presently unknown. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

75As NMR studies of superconducting LaFeAsO0.9F0.1

We have performed 75As nuclear magnetic resonance measurements on aligned powders of the new LaFeAsO0.9F0.1 superconductor. In the normal state, we find a strong temperature dependence of the spin shift and Korringa behavior of the spin lattice relaxation rate. In the superconducting state, we find evidence for line nodes in the superconducting gap and spin-singlet pairing. Our measurements reveal a strong anisotropy of the spin lattice relaxation rate, which suggests that superconducting vortices contribute to the relaxation rate when the field is parallel to the c axis but not for the perpendicular direction.     

NQR Spin Diffusion in an Inhomogeneous Internal Field

The theory of NQR spin diffusion is extended to the case of spin lattice relaxation and spin diffusion in an inhomogeneous field. Two coupled equations describing the mutual relaxation and the spin diffusion of the nuclear magnetization and dipolar energy were obtained by using the method of nonequilibrium state operator. The equations were solved for short and long times approximation corresponding to the direct and diffusion relaxation regimes.     

Oxygen ion dynamics in yttria-stabilized zirconia as evaluated by solid-state 17O NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state ¹⁷O NMR measurements between room temperature and 973 K were performed for the first time on ¹⁷O-enriched yttria-stabilized zirconia samples. Spin–lattice relaxation is found to exhibit a strong temperature dependence which can be traced back to motional displacements of the oxygen ions and which is almost unaffected by the actual sample constitution. Analysis of the spin–lattice relaxation data provides the motional correlation times. The derived activation energies are relatively low with values of about 30 kJ/mol. In addition, large temperature effects are observed for the ¹⁷O NMR line widths, and thus for spin–spin relaxation, which are again attributed to the oxygen ion mobility. In this case, the underlying oxygen motions, however, occur on a length-scale which is different from that probed by spin–lattice relaxation.     

The T 1 and T 2 Relaxation Times Distribution for the 35Cl and 14N NQR in Micro-composites and in Porous Materials

The paper describes the results of an experimental study of the ³⁵Cl and ¹⁴N nuclear quadrupole resonance in composite and porous materials, the influence of the environment and the crystallite size of powder on the nuclear quadrupole resonance line widths, as well as on the spin–spin and spin–lattice relaxation times. It is established that the spin–lattice relaxation time has a unimodal distribution, and the spin–spin relaxation time—bimodal distributions for all the investigated samples. The idealized distribution function of the relaxation times is obtained on the assumption that the concentration of inhomogeneities and relaxativity decreases with an increasing distance from the surface into the interior of the crystallite exponentially. It is shown that the model with the spin diffusion explains the shortening of the decay signal with decreasing grain size, but this is not confirmed by the experimental distribution of relaxation times obtained by means of the inverse Laplace transformation.     

Spin lattice relaxation rates of tunnelling CD3 groups

The spin lattice relaxation rates of deuterated methyl groups are calculated for threefold and sixfold potentials. It is shown that it should be possible to determine the symmetry of the potential hindering the methyl groups from deuteron spin lattice relaxation experiments. The temperature dependence of the spin lattice relaxation rates is discussed using a simple model. The similarities and the differences between proton NMR and deuteron NMR are pointed out. The main difference is thatEaEb transitions are forbidden by spin selection rules in case of CH₃, but not for CD₃. Therefore, and due to the fact that the quadrupolar interaction is a single particle interaction, deuteron NMR allows the study of the rotational dynamics of single methyl groups.     

NMR Relaxometer–Spectrometer with Continuous Generation of the HF Field for Studying Biological Objects

A compact nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometer–spectrometer with the continuous generation of the high-frequency energy and double magnetic field modulation has been designed for studying biological objects. Spin–lattice relaxation times and second-derivative spectra of the NMR signals have been measured. The relationship between the shape of the spectrum and the spin–lattice relaxation time has been established. This device is supposed to be used for the noninvasive measurement of the glucose concentration in the human blood from the measurement of the spin–lattice relaxation time and the NMR spectrum in a finger of a human hand.     

EPR Study of Sc<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>5</Subscript>:Nd<Superscript>143</Superscript> Isotopically Pure Impurity Crystals

The Sc₂SiO₅ single crystals doped with 0.001 at.% of the ¹⁴³Nd³⁺ ion were studied by continuous-wave and pulse electron paramagnetic resonance methods. The g-tensors and hyperfine structure tensors for two magnetically non-equivalent Nd ions were obtained. The spin–spin and spin–lattice relaxation times were measured at 9.82 GHz in the temperature range from 4 to 10 K. It was established that three relaxation processes contribute to the spin–lattice relaxation processes. There are one-phonon spin–phonon interaction, two-phonon Raman interaction and two-phonon Orbach–Aminov relaxation processes. It was established that spin–spin relaxation time is of the same magnitude for neodymium ion doped in Sc₂SiO₅ and in Y₂SiO₅.     

13C and 1H nuclear spin lattice magnetic relaxation in undoped polyacetylene

Pulsed NMR spin lattice relaxation measurements on ¹³C and ¹H nuclei in undoped trans-polyacetylene have been carried out between 6 and 295 K. The results indicate that the spin lattice relaxation is due to equilibrium fluctuations of the orientational order parameter for the protons while the carbon relaxation can be attributed to their coupling to paramagnetic impurities. In this temperature range no contribution of solitons has been detected in the relaxation mechanisms.     

Spin diffusion of dipolar energy in NQR

The theory of spin diffusion was extended to the case of nuclear dipolar order in solids containing paramagnetic impurities and nuclei with spin I > 1/2 having nuclear quadrupole moment. We show that spin diffusion process of dipolar order takes place in solids containing paramagnetic impurities. At the start of relaxation process, the direct relaxation regime is realized with non-exponential time dependence. Then the relaxation regime will be changed to diffusion-limited one. Using obtained expressions for the spin lattice relaxation times for these two relaxation regimes, the diffusion coefficient of the dipolar order in nuclear quadrupole resonance can be estimated from experimental data.     

Temperature Dependence of Electron Spin Relaxation of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl in Polystyrene

The electron spin relaxation rates for the stable radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) doped into polystyrene were studied by inversion recovery and electron spin echo at X-band and Q-band between 20 and 295 K. At low concentration (340 μM, 0.01 %), spin–lattice relaxation was dominated by the Raman process and a local mode. At high concentration (140 mM, 5 %), relaxation is orders of magnitude faster than at the lower concentration, and 1/T ₁ is approximately linearly dependent on the temperature. Spin lattice relaxation rates are similar at X-band and Q-band. The temperature dependence of spin echo dephasing was faster at about 140 K than at higher or lower temperatures, which is attributed to a wagging motion of the phenyl groups.     

Magnetic resonance of paramagnetic ion-nuclei in metals and superconductors

The magnetic resonance lineshape of paramagnetic ion-nuclei in metals is calculated using the temperature Green functions method and is analyzed for limiting cases of fast and slow spin lattice relaxation of localized moments. The longitudinal spin lattice relaxation rate for paramagnetic ion-nuclei in type II superconductors due to the hyperfine coupling with local moments is calculated. The influence of the fluctuation coupling of electrons on relaxation of paramagnetic ion-nuclei in “dirty” type II superconductors is investigated in magnetic field slightly above the upper critical field H_c2.     

EPR Spectroscopy of Impurity Thulium Ions in Yttrium Orthosilicate Single Crystals

The frequency-field and orientation dependences of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra are measured for impurity Tm³⁺ ions in yttrium orthosilicate (Y₂SiO₅) single crystals by stationary EPR spectroscopy in the frequency range of 50–100 GHz at 4.2 K. The position of the impurity ion in the crystal lattice and its magnetic characteristics are determined. The temperature dependences of the spin–lattice and phase relaxation times are measured by pulse EPR methods in the temperature range of 5–15 K and the high efficiency of the direct single-phonon mechanism of spin–lattice relaxation is established. This greatly shortens the spin–lattice relaxation time at low temperatures and makes impurity Tm³⁺ ions in Y₂SiO₅ a promising basis for the implementation of high-speed quantum memory based on rare-earth ions in dielectric crystals.     

NMR of terbium in ferrimagnetic Tb(R)Fe2

NMR and spin lattice relaxation were studied in TbRFe₂ compounds (R=Gd, Y, La). The influence of the substitutions in the rare carth sublattice on the NMR spectra was revealed. The resonance line position is determined by the iron sublattice mainly. The essential increase of spin lattice relaxation times as compared to pure terbium (up to 10 times in TbGdFe₂) was discovered.     

Interpretation of 1H and 2H spin–lattice relaxation dispersions: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations of polymer melts

We demonstrate that molecular dynamics simulations are a versatile tool to ascertain the interpretation of spin–lattice relaxation data. For ¹H, our simulation approach allows us to separate and to compare intra- and inter-molecular contributions to spin–lattice relaxation dispersions. Dealing with the important example of polymer melts, we show that the intramolecular parts of ¹H spectral densities and correlation functions are governed by rotational motion, while their inter-molecular counterparts provide access to translational motion, in particular, to mean-squared displacements and self-diffusion coefficients. Exploiting that the full microscopic information is available from molecular dynamics simulations, we determine the range of validity of experimental approaches, which often assume Gaussian dynamics, and we provide guidelines for the determination of free parameters required in experimental analyses. For ²H, we examine the traditional methodology to extract correlation times of complex dynamics from relaxation data. Furthermore, based on knowledge from our computational study, it is shown that measurement of ²H spin–lattice relaxation dispersions allows one to disentangle the intra- and inter-molecular contributions to the corresponding ¹H data in experimental work. Altogether, our simulation results yield a solid basis for future ¹H and ²H spin–lattice relaxation analysis.     

Zeeman effect in complex molecules in solid solutions with laser T1 → S0 excitation. New possibilities for investigation of spin—lattice relaxation

The main peculiarities of Zeeman-effect in phosphorescence spectra of randomly oriented molecular systems under selective T₁→S₀ excitation are investigated. On this basis a new method of measuring triplet state characteristics and spin—lattice relaxation rates in solid solutions is proposed. The results of Zeeman-effect investigations on 5-bromo-acenaphtene in ethanol and butylbromide at magnetic fields 10–50 kG at helium temperatures are given as an example. At low fields the deviation from Boltzmann equilibrium in the spin system of the molecule is observed and the rates of spin—lattice relaxation are determined.     

量子自旋液体候选材料的缪子自旋弛豫研究

量子自旋液体是一种新奇的磁性物态。由于极强的量子涨落,直至零温都不会出现长程序。量子自旋液体的基态不能用序参量描述,并且缺少对称性破缺,因此该物态的实现打破朗道理论的范式。对于量子自旋液体的研究有助于理解高温超导的机理,并且可以被应用在量子计算和量子信息中。目前,尽管理论上有了长足的发展,但仍旧没有任何一个材料被证实为量子自旋液体。因此,探测和确认一个真正的量子自旋液体材料是当前的研究重点。缪子自旋弛豫是一个对磁场极为敏感的实验技术,被广泛应用于量子自旋液体候选材料的研究中。该技术可以观测基态中是否存在磁有序,测量系统中的涨落频率,这两点都是表征量子自旋液体的重要性质。本文简要介绍了量子自旋液体态和缪子自旋弛豫技术,回顾了近期在不同体系的量子自旋液体候选材料中的实验结果,特别是缪子自旋弛豫的成果。这些体系包括一维反铁磁海森堡链（苯甲酸铜）,三角格子（YbMgGaO4,NaYbO2 和TbInO3）,笼目格[ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2 和 m3Sb3Zn2O14],蜂窝状格子（Na2IrO3 和 α-RuCl3）,以及烧绿石结构（Tb2Ti2O7,Pr2Ir2O7 和Ce2Zr2O7）。     

Anomalous specific heat and nuclear spin relaxation in Al-transition metal alloys

A mechanism involving dislocation pinning by impurities is proposed to explain the anomalous lattice specific heat and the nuclear spin—lattice relaxation in Al—transition metal alloys.     

Nonexponential 1H spin–lattice relaxation and methyl group rotation in molecular solids

We report a quantitative measure of the nonexponential ¹H spin–lattice relaxation resulting from methyl group (CH₃) rotation in six polycrystalline van der Waals solids. We briefly review the subject in general to put the report in context. We then summarize several significant issues to consider when reporting ¹H or ¹⁹F spin–lattice relaxation measurements when the relaxation is resulting from the rotation of a CH₃ or CF₃ group in a molecular solid.     

Manifestation of liquid-state and solid-state properties in electron relaxation of paramagnetic ions in solutions: Non-Markovian processes

The linewidth δH and the spin-spin relaxation time T ₂ for Gd³⁺, Mn²⁺, and Cr³⁺ ions in aqueous, water-glycerol, and water-poly(ethylene glycol) solutions at paramagnetic ion concentrations providing the dipole-dipole mechanism of spin relaxation are measured using two independent methods, namely, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nonresonance paramagnetic absorption in parallel fields. Analysis of the experimental results indicates a gradual crossover from pure liquid-state (diffusion) to quasi-solid-state (rigid lattice) spin relaxation. It is demonstrated that the limiting cases are adequately described by standard, universally accepted formulas for dipole-dipole interactions in the liquid-state (the correlation time of translational motion satisfies the condition τ _c ?τ₂) and solid-state (τ _c ?τ₂) approximations. A complete theoretical treatment of the experimental dependences (including the observed gradual crossover of spin relaxation) is performed in the framework of the non-Markovian theory of spin relaxation in disordered media, which is proposed by one of the authors. Within this approach, the collective memory effects for spin and molecular (lattice) variables are taken into account using the first-order and second-order memory functions for spin-spin and spin-lattice interactions. A correlation between the spin magnitude and the temperature-viscosity conditions corresponding to the crossover to non-Markovian relaxation is revealed, and the situations in which structural transformations occurring in the solutions favor the crossover to solid-state spin relaxation are analyzed.