Heterogeneous adsorption potential of 3He in silica aerogel and its influence on magnetic relaxation of 3He

TL;DR

This study investigates how surface heterogeneity of silica aerogel affects the nuclear magnetic relaxation of 3He, revealing the role of adsorbed helium with varying binding energies in relaxation processes.

Contribution

It provides experimental data on 3He binding energies on silica aerogel and links surface heterogeneity to magnetic relaxation behavior.

Findings

Surface heterogeneity influences 3He T1 relaxation times.

Binding energies of 3He range from 60 to 250 K.

Adsorbed 3He significantly impacts relaxation processes.

Abstract

Significant influence of aerogel surface heterogeneity on the processes of 3He nuclear magnetic relaxation at temperatures 1.5 - 4.2 K is discovered. This influence appears, for instance, in differences of 3He T1 relaxation times for small portion of 3He, adsorbed at different temperatures. Binding energy data of 3He on the surface of powder silica aerogel obtained experimentally and binding energy lies in the wide range. Adsorbed 3He molecules with binding energies 60-250 K play supreme role in processes of nuclear magnetic relaxation of gaseous and liquid 3He in aerogel.