13.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging & Atomic Clocks | Planetary Science 08/04/21, 19:36

Planetary Science

13. Magnetic Resonance Imaging &

Atomic Clocks
Posted on September 21, 2016September 22, 2016 by Michaela
Marcus’ Notes (https://planetaryscienceblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/13-marcus-notes-magnetic-
resonance-imaging-atomic-clocks/)

We begin with a discussion of the optical Bloch equations, steady state solutions and Rabi oscilla-
tions. We then consider light pulses and free induction decay, and show a plot of this with differ-
ent detunings. We introduce magnetic resonance imaging, and how this creates an oscillating mag-
netization in the sample allowing the free induction decay rate to be measured, and how, by
adding field gradients, a Fourier approach can be used to produce a 3D image of the nuclear den-
sity. Ramsay interferometry is also introduced.

Atomic clocks are introduced, in which the sensitivity of the metrological performance is related to
coherence times.

Introduction

The Optical Bloch Equations, Steady State Solutions & Rabi Oscillations

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Light Pulses

Consider a pulse of light of length :

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13. Magnetic Resonance Imaging & Atomic Clocks | Planetary Science 08/04/21, 19:36

This demonstrates that we can use light pulses to rotate the Bloch vector to different locations by choos-
ing the angle . Two commonly used pulses are -pulse and the -pulse, where and
respectively.

Free Induction Decay (FID)

The FID pulse sequence consists of a -pulse followed by the period :

Note that and oscillate with frequency defined by the detuning , while does not os-
cillate. The oscillations of and decay with the dephasing rate . instead decays with
the relaxation rate . The solution for is plotted below for different detunings:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Consider the apparatus below designed to detect the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) fo an en-
semble sample of H nuclei. These nuclei are spin-1/2 nuclei, and so have two nuclear spin states.

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The transition frequency of the nuclei is defined by the uniform static field to be
, in which is the nuclear magneton and is the nuclear g-factor of H. For T
fields, these transition frequencies are MHz (i.e. radiofrequency).

A coil wound around the sample applies an orthogonal oscillating magnetic field with
frequency . This oscillating field drives nuclear spin transitions with detuning and
. The oscillating field is pulsed to produce FID. During the FID, the net nuclear mag-
netization of the sample is . The component of the magnetization parallel to the axis
of the coil is , which oscillates with frequency . As per
Faraday’s Law, this oscillating magnetization induces a voltage signal in the coil, which is elec-
tronically detected and used to measure the FID of the nuclei.

Now, we can consider the addition of a static field gradient in the x-direction, such that
. Setting , the detuning of a nucleus in the sample thus becomes de-
pendent on the position of the nucleus in the sample thus becomes dependent on the position of
the nucleus . The infinitessimal FID signal arising from the infinitessimal
segment dx of the sample at position x is thus:

this is clearly related to the Fourier Sine transform of the nuclear density . Hence, a 1D image
of the nuclear density can be simply obtained by an inverse Fourier Sine transform of S(k). By
adding field gradients in the other two coordinate directions, this Fourier approach can be extend-
ed to produce a 3D image of the nuclear density, which is the basis of modern MRI imaging.

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13. Magnetic Resonance Imaging & Atomic Clocks | Planetary Science 08/04/21, 19:36

Ramsey Interferometry

The Ramsey interferemetry pulse sequence differs from that of FID by the addition of a second -
pulse after the period .

Immediately following the second pulse, the Bloch vector solutions are:

Differing from FID, now oscillates with frequency , and these oscillations decay with the de-
phasing rate .

Atomic Clocks

One realisation of the cesium atomic clock is depicted below. It employs Ramsey interferometry of
the and nuclear spin states of the cesium atom and consists of a source of cesium
atoms, two selecting magnets, a U-shaped microwave cavity and an atom detector.

Cesium atoms leave the source with a probability of being in either the and
states, as defined by thermal statistics. Magnet A deflects atoms that are in the state as
per the Stern-Gerlach experiment, and so only atoms in the state enter the first arm of the
microwave cavity. As the atom passes through the fist arm of the microwave cavity, the mi-
crowaves drive a -pulse between the and states with detuning , in
which is the transition frequency and is the frequency of the microwave cavity.

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The atom then undergoes a period of free evolution as it passes between the two arms of the cavity
until it receives a second -pulse in the second arm of the cavity. After the second arm, the atom
has a probability of being in eiuther the and states, as defined by the detuning .
Magnet B then deflects the atom if it is in the state, such that it only reaches the detector
if it is in the state. Thus, the measurement signal is the probability that the atoms are in teh
state after passing through the two arms of the cavity. The probability is:

Given that can be known accurately, the signal can be used to measure the detuning . Since is
physically defined by the atomic structure of cesium, measurement of can be used as feedback to
correct any fluctuations in the frequency of the microwave cavity. Having locked the frequency
of the microwave cavity to a physical constant in this way, the microwave cavity can be used as an
accurate electronic oscillator for the construction of a clock!

The accuracy of the clock is governed by the smallest detectable detuning , which is defined by
the condition that the change in signal due to a change in the detuning by
is greater than or equal to two standard deviations of measurement noise :

in which is the detuning that needs to be maintained. Note that the above is simply derived us-
ing a first-order Taylor series expansion.

For shot-noise detection of the atoms,

in which is the number of shots (i.e. atoms).

Now, the gradient of the signal:

is maximised when is chosen such that for some integer n. Putting the
above together, we find:

So, we have that decreases if more measurements are performed!

Since depends on the number of measurements performed, and thus the total measurement
time , it is more meaningful to describe metrological performance in terms of sensitivity:

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which is independent of . Note that in the above, has been used, where the shot time
has been approximated by (i.e. the time of the -pulse has been ignored), which is
approximately equal to at the point chosen to maximise sensitivity. The above makes it clear
that sensitivity is inversely dependent on , i.e. longer coherence times result in greater
sensitivity.

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com/2016/09/21/14-quantum-computing/)

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