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Physical Review A

Spin exchange in polarized deuterium

Barbara von Przewoski, H. O. Meyer, J. Balewski, W. W. Daehnick, J. Doskow, Willy Haeberli, R. Ibald, B. Lorentz, P. V. Pancella, Robert E. Pollock, F. Rathmann, T. Rinckel, Swapan K. Saha, B. Schwartz, P. Thörngren Engblom, A. Wellinghausen, Thomas J. Whitaker, Tom Wise

Published Oct 10, 2003• 2 citations

Abstract

We have measured the vector and tensor polarization of an atomic deuterium target as a function of the target density. The polarized deuterium was produced in an atomic beam source and injected into a storage cell. For this experiment, the atomic beam source was operated without rf transitions, in order to avoid complications from the unknown efficiency of these transitions. In this mode, the atomic beam is vector and tensor polarized and both polarizations can be measured simultaneously. We used a 1.2-cm-diam and 27-cm-long storage cell, which yielded an average target density between 3 and $9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}/\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{3}.$ We find that the tensor polarization decreases with increasing target density while the vector polarization remains constant. The data are in quantitative agreement with the calculated effect of spin exchange between deuterium atoms at low field.

DOI: 10.1103/physreva.68.042705

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We have measured the vector and tensor polarization of an atomic deuterium target as a function of the target density. The polarized deuterium was produced in an atomic beam source and injected into a storage cell. For this experiment, the atomic beam source was operated without rf transitions, in order to avoid complications from the unknown efficiency of these transitions. In this mode, the atomic beam is vector and tensor polarized and both polarizations can be measured simultaneously. We used a 1.2-cm-diam and 27-cm-long storage cell, which yielded an average target density between 3 and

9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}/\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{3}.

We find that the tensor polarization decreases with increasing target density while the vector polarization remains constant. The data are in quantitative agreement with the calculated effect of spin exchange between deuterium atoms at low field.

Recent progress in the performance of laser-driven source of polarized deuterium is described. Optical pumping of potassium atoms followed by spin exchange scattering with deuterium atoms in a high magnetic field and RF transitions in a medium field was found to produce an intense, highly spin-polarized beam of deuterium atoms. In particular, the atomic polarization of deuterium was determined to be 73{plus_minus}3% at an intensity of 2.1 {times} 10{sup 17} Atomsis. The RF transition efficiency was measured and found to be 92{plus_minus}5%.

Optical pumping of potassium atoms followed by spin-exchange scattering with deuterium atoms in a high magnetic field was found to produce an intense, highly spin-polarized beam of atomic deuterium. In particular, the atomic polarization of deuterium was determined to be (73\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3)% at an intensity of 2.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}

{10}^{17}

atoms/s.

Polarized atomic beam sources have been in operation for many years to produce either nuclear polarized atomic hydrogen or deuterium beams. In recent experiments, such a source was used to polarize both isotopes independently at the same time. By recombination of the atoms, hydrogen-deuterium molecules with all possible nuclear spin combinations can be created. Those spin isomers are useful for further applications, like precision spectroscopy, as polarized targets for laser-particle acceleration, polarized fuel for fusion reactors, or as an option for future measurements of electric dipole moments.

For molecular systems, spin relaxation is expected to be suppressed compared to the case of atoms, since the paired electrons in a hydrogen or deuterium molecule are chemically stable, and only weakly interact with the spin of the nucleus. Such systems would be largely insensitive to polarization losses due to spin-exchange collisions, to the interaction of the electron spins with external fields (e.g. the RF-field of a bunched charged-particle beam), and/or to the presence of container walls. Here, we discuss the results of a recent experiment where we obtained evidence that nuclear polarization is maintained, when polarized atoms recombine to molecules on a copper surface (in a magnetic field of 23 mT and at a density of about 1012 molecules⋅cm−3).

Optically pumped spin-exchange sources for polarized hydrogen and deuterium atoms have been demonstrated to yield high atomic flow and high electron spin polarization. For maximum nuclear polarization the source has to be operated in spin temperature equilibrium, which has already been demonstrated for hydrogen. In spin temperature equilibrium the nuclear spin polarization PI equals the electron spin polarization PS for hydrogen and is even larger than PS for deuterium. We discuss the general properties of spin temperature equilibrium for a sample of deuterium atoms. One result are the equations PI=4PS/(3+PS2) and Pzz=PS⋅PI, where Pzz is the nuclear tensor polarization. Furthermore we demonstrate that the deuterium atoms from our source are in spin temperature equilibrium within the experimental accuracy.