Hyperpolarized Xenon Nuclear Spins Detected by Optical Atomic Magnetometry

We report the use of an atomic magnetometer based on nonlinear magneto-optical rotation with frequency-modulated light to detect nuclear magnetization of xenon gas. The magnetization of a spin-exchange-polarized xenon sample ($1.7{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^3$ at a pressure of 5 bars, natural isotopic abundance, polarization $1\%$), prepared remotely to the detection apparatus, is measured with an atomic sensor. An average magnetic field of $\sim 10\mathrm{n}\mathrm{G}$ induced by the xenon sample on the 10 cm diameter atomic sensor is detected with signal-to-noise ratio $\sim 10$, limited by residual noise in the magnetic environment. The possibility of using modern atomic magnetometers as detectors of nuclear magnetic resonance and in magnetic resonance imaging is discussed. Atomic magnetometers appear to be ideally suited for emerging low-field and remote-detection magnetic resonance applications.