Phys Rev E Stat Phys Plasmas Fluids Relat Interdiscip Topics. 2000 Mar;61(3):2741-8

Magnetic resonance imaging of convection in laser-polarized xenon

Mair RW, Tseng CH, Wong GP, Cory DG, Walsworth RL.

Abstract

We demonstrate nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging of the flow and diffusion of laser-polarized xenon (129Xe) gas undergoing convection above evaporating laser-polarized liquid xenon. The large xenon NMR signal provided by the laser-polarization technique allows more rapid imaging than one can achieve with thermally polarized gas-liquid systems, permitting shorter time-scale events such as rapid gas flow and gas-liquid dynamics to be observed. Two-dimensional velocity-encoded imaging shows convective gas flow above the evaporating liquid xenon, and also permits the measurement of enhanced gas diffusion near regions of large velocity variation.

PMID: 11046596