Generating unexpected spin echoes in dipolar solids with pi pulses

NMR spin echo measurements of 13C in C60, 89Y in Y2O3, and 29Si in silicon are shown to defy conventional expectations when more than one pi pulse is used. Multiple pi-pulse echo trains may either freeze out or accelerate the decay of the signal, depending on the pi-pulse phase. Average Hamiltonian theory, combined with exact quantum calculations, reveals an intrinsic cause for these coherent phenomena: the dipolar coupling has a many-body effect during any real, finite pulse.