1997/04/01 by Thad Walker, W. Happer · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum optics and atomic interactions
paper · doi:10.1103/revmodphys.69.629
openalex publication_date 1997/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Spin-exchange optical pumping of mixtures of alkali-metal vapors and noble gases can be used to efficiently polarize the nuclei of the noble-gas atoms. Liters of noble gases at standard temperature and pressure and with nuclear spin polarizations of several tens of percent are now used in many applications. The authors describe the basic phenomena that govern the spin-exchange process and review the physics of angular momentum transfer and loss in optical pumping and spin-exchange collisions.