Dynamic nuclear polarization and spin-diffusion in non-conducting solids

There has been much renewed interest in dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), particularly in the context of solid state biomolecular NMR and more recently dissolution DNP techniques for liquids. This paper reviews the role of spin diffusion in polarizing nuclear spins and discusses the role of the spin diffusion barrier, before going on to discuss some recent results.Comment: submitted to Applied Magnetic Resonance. The article should appear in a special issue that is being published in connection with the DNP Symposium help in Nottingham in August 200

Acoustic absorption by the electron-hole liquid in germanium

The absorption of ultrasonic acoustic waves by the electron-hole liquid that may be created in germanium at liquid helium temperatures by intense optical excitation was studied. This is a degenerate compensated Fermi liquid that exhibits the behavior of both classical dynamics in a force field, and quantum phenomena in a magnetic field. Results of theoretical and experimental studies of the interaction of the mobile liquid with a travelling acoustic wave force field, the attenuation of the wave due to energy-dissipative processes coupling the liquid to the crystal lattice, and the effect of a moderately strong magnetic field on the dynamic behavior of the system are presented. In unstrained germanium the electron-hole liquid (EHL) is known to be condensed into small droplets of radius approx. 5 ..mu..m; the creation of an EHL energy well by the application of an inhomogeneous stress causes the liquid to be aggregated into a macroscopically large volume