Surface and chemical effects on 199Hg spin polarization relaxation in optically pumped magnetometers Steven K. Lamoreaux* [1]

https://www.academia.edu/3064-979X/2/3/10.20935/AcadQuant7840 Quantum spin magnetometry using optically pumped 199Hg has been successfully used in many fundamental physics experiments. A serious problem that has not been resolved is the instability of the 199Hg spin relaxation rate in atomic vapor cells under irradiation with 254 nm Hg resonance light. In this paper, previously obtained data are re-analyzed or analyzed for the first time. The effects of impurities of H2 and O2 are elucidated, and possible ways to stabilize cells are discussed. The surface states originating from the van der Waals interaction of 199Hg with fused silica are analyzed and shown to be essential to understand relaxation mechanisms. A discussion of the possible use of a mixture of N2O and other gases is presented. This research article is different from most because it describes work using optically pumped 199Hg that has been conducted over the last 40 years, some of which was never published, and with only partial theoretical analysis. As such, a review article is not possible due to the limited specific literature to review. Typically, studies of cell wall-induced atomic polarization relaxation times, defined here as (with wall relaxation rate), were performed in the context of building an apparatus to measure some fundamental process of greater immediate interest; as typical in such work, tedious technical details are barely left as a footnote if presented at all.