Nuclear magnetic relaxation of /sup 3/He gas. I. Pure /sup 3/He
Longitudinal relaxation times T/sub 1/ have been measured in /sup 3/He gas, using pulsed NMR, for number densities between 3 /times/ 10/sup 23/ and 6 /times/ 10/sup 25/ spins m/sup /minus/3/ and temperatures between 0.6 and 15 K. Relaxation takes place on or near the walls of the Pyrex sample cells and measurements of T/sub 1/ give information about the surface phases. A cryogenic wall coating of solid molecular hydrogen was found to delay the formation of a /sup 3/He monolayer on cooling, and T/sub 1/ measurements were consistent with a binding energy of approx. 13 K for a /sup 3/He atom to a hydrogen surface. At temperatures below approx. 2 K a completed /sup 3/He monolayer forms on the H/sub 2/ coating. No variation of the areal density of monolayer completion with bulk number density at fixed temperature could be observed and the completed /sup 3/He monolayer is thought to be a dense fluid. Baking the Pyrex sample cells under vacuum and using an rf discharge in /sup 3/He gas to clean the walls before sealing in the sample gas were found to increase the observed T/sub 1/'s by up to three orders of magnitude. Once a /sup 3/He monolayer has formed on the H/sub 2/ surface in these cleaned, sealed cells, the dipolar interaction between adsorbed spins is thought to be the dominant source of longitudinal relaxation. The data are consistent with a dipolar relaxation model with a correlation time of approx. 2 /times/ 10/sup /minus/9/ sec. This time is long compared to the value of 10/sup /minus/11/ or 10/sup /minus/12/ sec in the 3D fluid. This suggests that if the surface phase is a 2D fluid and the dipolar mechanism is indeed the dominant one, then the atoms in the 2D fluid are less mobile than in three dimensions. This is consistent with recent susceptibility measurements.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Sussex, Brighton (England)
- OSTI ID:
- 5898002
- Journal Information:
- J. Low Temp. Phys.; (United States), Vol. 72:1-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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640460* - Fluid Physics- Other Quantum Fluids
656002 - Condensed Matter Physics- General Techniques in Condensed Matter- (1987-)