Nuclear spin relaxation induced by a mechanical resonator

Abstract

We report on measurements of the spin lifetime of nuclear spins strongly coupled to a micromechanical cantilever as used in magnetic resonance force microscopy. We find that the rotating-frame correlation time of the statistical nuclear polarization is set by the magneto-mechanical noise originating from the thermal motion of the cantilever. Evidence is based on the effect of three parameters: (1) the magnetic field gradient (the coupling strength), (2) the Rabi frequency of the spins (the transition energy), and (3) the temperature of the low-frequency mechanical modes. Experimental results are compared to relaxation rates calculated from the spectral density of the magneto-mechanical noise.

4 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging with 90 nm Resolution
• The role of spin noise in the detection of nanoscale ensembles of nuclear spins
• Nanomechanical Analog of a Laser: Amplification of Mechanical Oscillations by Stimulated Zeeman Transitions
• Nuclear magnetic resonance force microscopy with a microwire rf source
• Theory of spin relaxation in magnetic resonance force microscopy
• Spin Relaxation Caused by Thermal Excitations of High Frequency Modes of Cantilever Vibrations

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• Measurement of statistical nuclear spin polarization in a nanoscale GaAs sample
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• Spin Lifetime in Small Electron Spin Ensembles Measured by Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy
• A Discrete Two-Dimensional Model of a Loaded Cantilever Influenced by Time-Dependent Forces