Nuclear spin polarization of targets

Lasers can be used to produce milligrams to grams of noble gas nuclei with spin polarizations in excess of 50%. These quantities are sufficient to be very useful targets in nuclear physics experiments. Alkali-metal atoms are used to capture the angular momentum of circularly polarized laser photons, and the alkali-metal atoms transfer their angular momentum to noble gas atoms in binary or three-body collisions. Non-radiative collisions between the excited alkali atoms and molecular quenching gases are essential to avoid radiation trapping. The spin exchange can involve gas-phase van der Waals molecules, consisting of a noble gas atom and an alkali metal atom. Surface chemistry is also of great importance in determining the wall-induced relaxation rates of the noble gases