Nuclear-spin waves in polarized atomic hydrogen gas: Temperature and density dependence in the hydrodynamic and Knudsen regimes. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Accurate measurements on the nuclear-spin waves observed in the NMR spectrum of spin-polarized atomic hydrogen provide a quantitative test of theory. Results for temperatures between 160 and 537 mK and densities between 71015 and 51016 cm-3 display the expected magnitude and T-1/2 divergence predicted for the spin-wave quality factor . It is shown that spin waves persist at low enough densities (Knudsen regime) that elastic wall collisions are more probable than atom-atom exchange collisions. An anomalous increase in spin-wave widths at low temperatures is explained in terms of the enhanced effects of sticking collisions of the atoms with the walls. 1989 The American Physical Society.

published proceedings

  • Phys Rev Lett

author list (cited authors)

  • Bigelow, N. P., Freed, J. H., & Lee, D. M.

citation count

  • 37

complete list of authors

  • Bigelow, NP||Freed, JH||Lee, DM

publication date

  • October 1989