A suitable NMR experiment in a one-dimensional dipolar coupled spin system
allows one to reduce the natural many-body dynamics into effective one-body
dynamics. We verify this in a polycrystalline sample of hydroxyapatite (HAp) by
monitoring the excitation of NMR many-body superposition states: the
multiple-quantum coherences. The observed effective one-dimensionality of HAp
relies on the quasi 1d structure of the dipolar coupled network that, as we
show here, is dynamically enhanced by the quantum Zeno effect. Decoherence is
also probed through a Loschmidt echo experiment, where the time reversal is
implemented on the double-quantum Hamiltonian, I_{i,+}I_{j,+} + I_{i,-}I_{j,-}.
We contrast the decoherence of adamantane, a standard 3d system, with that of
HAp. While the first shows an abrupt Fermi-type decay, HAp presents a smooth
exponential law.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
