| Three different nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments using laser-polarized noble gas are reported. The first experiment demonstrates the feasibility of fast low magnetic field (∼20 G) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with comparable resolution and signal-to-noise of conventional high magnetic field (∼1 T) MRI. In addition, advantages of low field imaging over high field imaging are shown for certain applications. The second experiment uses NMR to observe the phenomenon known as “persistence”, (i.e., the probability that a spin has not changed sign up to time t) in the diffusion of laser-polarized noble gas. The result obtained is consistent with theory and numerical simulations, and is the first measurement of persistence in 1-D diffusion in any system. The final NMR experiment examines the spin relaxation of polarized 129Xe in coated glass cells. In particular, a “double resonance” method is employed to enhance the coupling between 1H atoms in the surface coating and 129Xe adsorbed onto the surface. |
