Distant Dipolar Fields in Laser Polarized Gases on Macroscopic Scales

P.P. ZÄNKER; J. SCHMIEDESKAMP; H.W. SPIESS; R. H. ACOSTA

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Año: 2008 vol. 100 p. 2130011 - 2130014

0031-9007

Distant dipolar fields among nuclear spins on macroscopic scales in the gas phase are reportedfor the first time. Their observation via interatomic multiple quantum coherences requires highnuclear spin polarization corresponding to spin temperatures of a few mK, which is generatedin laser polarized 3He, and proper control of the gas diffusion through a heavier buffer gas. Thiscombination of physics at low and ambient temperatures opens up new ways of studying the relativetranslational diffusion of atoms and of gas diffusion in structures with a large range of length scales.