〈S z〉 wall relaxation measurements of optically pumped sodium atoms at high magnetic field
- 15 May 1988
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 63 (10) , 4819-4822
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.340474
Abstract
The wall relaxation time for optically pumped 〈Sz〉 polarized sodium atoms colliding with copper, stainless-steel, and dry-film coated surfaces has been measured as a function of an applied magnetic field. Results show that the mean number of wall collisions increases from one to about four before depolarization of sodium atoms occurs on a copper wall in a high (12 kG) magnetic field, whereas the atoms relax after a single collision on a stainless-steel wall even in high fields. The relaxation time for a dry-film coated surface, for the cell geometries used in our work, is dominated by the effusion of polarized sodium atoms from the cell. Our measurements also allow an estimate of the strength of the local magnetic field causing the 〈Sz〉 depolarization and of the correlation time of the depolarization interaction on the surface. The importance of these experimental results as applied to the performance of optically pumped polarized ion sources is also discussed.This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effect of radiation trapping on the polarization of an optically pumped alkali-metal vapor in a weak magnetic fieldPhysical Review A, 1987
- A laser source of polarized protons and H− ionsNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1986
- Measurement of the electron-spin transfer efficiency in an optically pumped polarized H- ion sourcePhysics Letters A, 1986
- Effect of radiation trapping on the polarization of an optically pumped alkali-metal vaporPhysical Review A, 1986
- Wall relaxation rates for an optically pumped Na vaporNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 1985
- Highly polarized Na gas target by optical pumping with cw multi-mode dye laserPhysics Letters A, 1984
- Measurement of electron polarization of optically pumped sodium atomsNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, 1984
- Optical Pumping of Dense Charge-Exchange Targets for Polarized Ion SourcesPhysical Review Letters, 1982
- Optically pumped electron spin polarized targets for use in the production of polarized ion beamsNuclear Instruments and Methods, 1979
- Relaxation of Optically Pumped Rb Atoms on Paraffin-Coated WallsPhysical Review B, 1966