| In this dissertation, I present work concerning the production of nuclear polarized 129Xe via spin exchange with laser polarized rubidium atoms. This production depends critically upon three major factors: 129Xe wall relaxation, optical pumping light sources, and the fundamental Rb-129Xe spin exchange and spin loss rates. We have experimentally explored each of these areas in turn.; We find theoretically that Korringa relaxation on metal surfaces may be the dominant relaxation mechanism for 129Xe on many elemental metal surfaces. Our experimental evidence supporting this theory consists of relaxation rate measurements for 129Xe on gold, silver, and indium at one temperature as well as the relaxation rate of 129 Xe in a gold coated container measured as a function of temperature.; We have successfully applied an external cavity to a 1 cm diode laser array for the first time, yielding frequency-narrowed and tunable output. In this way, we produce 16.5 Watts of power with a linewidth of 90 GHz, increasing the spectral power by a factor of ten over the free-running array.; We report our measurements for Rb spin loss and Rb-129Xe spin exchange in a mixture of 98% 4He, 1% Xe, and 1% N 2 at temperatures between 80°C and 150°C and gas densities ranging from 0.006 to 3.2 amagats. These measurements represent the first exploration of the temperature dependence of these rates as well as the first observation of the transition from short, lived to very short lived RbXe van der Waals molecules.; Finally, we discuss the implications of this work for practical spin exchange optical pumping apparatus design. |
