Nonextensive statistics in spin precession

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that trapped particles in magnetic and electric fields often exhibit non-Gaussian precession phase distributions with power-law tails, aligning with nonextensive statistics, which can be used to measure experimental parameters.

Contribution

It introduces the application of nonextensive statistics to describe non-Gaussian phase distributions in spin precession experiments, revealing new insights into particle behavior.

Findings

Particles form non-Gaussian distributions with power-law tails.

Distribution shape depends on experimental parameters.

Potential for new measurement techniques based on distribution shape.

Abstract

Many experiments utilize the precession of trapped particles in magnetic fields to perform high precision measurements. It had been presumed that after free precession, initially polarized particles will form a Gaussian phase distribution in the plane of precession. We show that trapped particles in the presence of magnetic field gradients and electric fields will often form a non-Gaussian distribution with power-law tails which are consistent with nonextensive statistics. As the exact shape of the distribution depends upon many experimental parameters, it provides a potential new technique to directly measure them.