Quantum-Mechanical and Semiclassical Forms of the Density Operator Theory of Relaxation

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic relaxation phenomena are studied by means of a density operator formalism. Both quantum mechanical and semiclassical forms of a density operator relaxation theory are developed using this formalism. Both forms of the theory are applicable when the spin energy depends explicity on time, and both predict correctly the observed density operator. The relaxation of a system of identical spin-1/2 nuclei is calculated as an example. (T.F.H.)