Multiple-quantum dynamics in NMR: A directed walk through Liouville space

Abstract

An approach to spin dynamics in systems with many degrees of freedom, based on a recognition of the constraints common to all large systems, is developed and used to study the excitation of multiple-quantum coherence under a nonsecular dipolar Hamiltonian. The exact equation of motion is replaced by a set of coupled rate equations whose exponential solutions reflect the severe damping expected when many closely spaced frequency components are superposed. In this model the evolution of multiple-quantum coherence under any bilinear Hamiltonian is treated as a succession of discrete hops in Liouville space, with each hop taking the system from a K-spin/n-quantum mode to a K′-spin/n′-quantum mode. In particular, for a pure double-quantum Hamiltonian the selection rules are ΔK=±1 and Δn=±2. The rate for each move depends on the number of Liouville states at the origin and destination, and on the total number of spins present. All rates are scaled uniformly by a factor dependent on the properties of the material, such as the dipolar linewidth, but otherwise the behavior predicted is universal for all sufficiently complicated systems. Results derived by this generic approach are compared to existing multiple-quantum data obtained from solids and liquid crystals.