CAREER: Physics and Applications of Hyperpolarized Gases

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

This career development program combines innovative applications of hyperpolarized (HP) noble gases with the development of a new track for undergraduate physics majors, Physics of Modern Technology. Enormous non-equilibrium nuclear-spin polarizations (of order 10%) can be achieved in He-3 and Xe-129 via spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP), greatly enhancing the NMR sensitivity of these nuclei. These hyperpolarized (HP) noble gases are being applied to a broad range of problems in physics, chemistry, and biomedicine. The recent strong push in applications of HP gases has created tremendous cross-disciplinary excitement, but has left in its wake a number of important and persistent problems in the physics that must be addressed to realize the full potential of the various applications. This research program integrates the study of the basic physics of SEOP and several applications. Studies include the use of highly polarized Xe-129 both for polarization transfer to other nuclei of interest, and for the study of a highly ordered lattice of spins, and a detailed analysis to determine the relaxation mechanism of hyper-polarized gases at wall surfaces. Physics of Modern Technology: The educational component of the program consists of co-development of a new track for physics majors at the University of Utah, Physics of Modern Technology (PMT). The PMT program is aimed at highly motivated students who will not be professional physicists but do need preparation for careers and leadership positions in which it will be valuable to have technical, quantitative and analytic strengths. The PMT program contains a number of innovative pedagogical features, including a modular structure in which important physical principles are explained and demonstrated in the context of real-world technical problems, and the integration of theory, experiment, and computation in each module. PMT will be excellent preparation for careers such as journalism, patent law, and medicine, and it will stimulate creative teaching and interaction with the rapidly changing and technically oriented industrial world.