Martin Burghoff

Revised experimental upper limit on the electric dipole moment of the neutron

We present for the first time a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the experimental results that set the current world sensitivity limit on the magnitude of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron. We have extended and enhanced our earlier analysis to include recent developments in the understanding of the effects of gravity in depolarizing ultracold neutrons; an improved calculation of the spectrum of the neutrons; and conservative estimates of other possible systematic errors, which are also shown to be consistent with more recent measurements undertaken with the apparatus. We obtain a net result of dn=−0.21±1.82×10−26  e cm, which may be interpreted as a slightly revised upper limit on the magnitude of the EDM of 3.0×10−26  e cm (90% C.L.) or 3.6×10−26  e cm (95% C.L.).

Nuclear magnetic resonance in the nanoTesla range

At ultralow fields of 40nTto4μT magnetic flux density, nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of a resolution well below 1Hz were obtained, which is beyond what usually is achieved in the conventional high-field regime. The spectral resolution of our setup allows for the direct observation of the natural linewidth of distilled water. For heteronuclear systems, this enables pure J-spectroscopy in the absence of a chemical shift, with a resolution that is limited only by the natural width of the resonance lines.

MAGNETOCARDIOGRAPHY AND 32-LEAD POTENTIAL MAPPING : REPOLARIZATION IN NORMAL SUBJECTS DURING PHARMACOLOGICALLY INDUCED STRESS

Repolarization of the Magnetocardiogram. Signals from 37 magnetocardiographic sensors and simultaneously recorded 32 ECG leads were obtained in three healthy male subjects (including two reinvestigations). After recordings at rest, the heart rate was increased by pharmacologic stress (117 to 142 beats/min). Comparison of the repolarization of rest and stress showed substantial changes in the magnetocardiogram (MCG) up to T wave inversions during stress. In the ECG only junctional ST‐T segment shifts were present. Eor quantification, correlation coefficients between pairs of rest and stress MCG and rest and stress ECG distributions were calculated for the same time instant at the beginning of T wave under rest and stress conditions. In addition, equivalent electrical current dipole moment and magnetic dipole moment vectors were calculated from the MCG, and their cbange from rest to stress evaluated. Correlation coefficients for MCG comparison ranged from 0.3 to 0.5; ECG comparison suggested much less change from stress, ranging from 0.7 to 1.0. Current dipole moment changes at T wave onset were marginal; in contrast, the magnetic dipole moment changed substantially. Since the magnetic dipole refiects vortex currents, changes in its intensity and/or orientation during repolarization suggest this as the biophysical basis of the striking difference in the response of the MCG and ECG to pharmacologic stress. Normal ECG findings at rest and under stress in healthy subjects support the conclusion that the repolarization changes in the MCG were of nonpathologic origin.

Constraints on spin-dependent short-range interaction between nucleons.

We search for a spin-dependent P- and T-violating nucleon-nucleon interaction mediated by light pseudoscalar bosons such as axions or axionlike particles. We employ an ultrasensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free precession of colocated 3He and 129Xe nuclear spins using SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. The precession frequency shift in the presence of an unpolarized mass was measured to determine the coupling of pseudoscalar particles to the spin of the bound neutron. For boson masses between 2 and 500  μeV (force ranges between 3×1(-4)  m and 10(-1)  m) we improved the laboratory upper bounds by up to 4 orders of magnitude.

Ultra-sensitive magnetometry based on free precession of nuclear spins

We discuss the design and performance of a very sensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free spin precession of gaseous, nuclear polarized 3He or 129Xe samples with a SQUID as magnetic flux detector. The device will be employed to control fluctuating magnetic fields and gradients in a new experiment searching for a permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron as well as in a new type of 3He/129Xe clock comparison experiment which should be sensitive to a sidereal variation of the relative spin precession frequency. Characteristic spin precession times T_2 of up to 60h could be measured. In combination with a signal-to-noise ratio of>5000:1, this leads to a sensitivity level of deltaB= 1fT after an integration time of 220s and to deltaB= 10^(-4)fT after one day. Even in that sensitivity range, the magnetometer performance is statistically limited, and noise sources inherent to the magnetometer are not limiting. The reason is that free precessing 3He (129Xe) nuclear spins are almost completely decoupled from the environment. That makes this type of magnetometer in particular attractive for precision field measurements where a long-term stability is required.

Conversion of magnetocardiographic recordings between two different multichannel SQUID devices

Comparison of biomagnetic measurements performed with different multichannel magnetometers is difficult, because differing sensor types and locations do not allow measurements from the same locations in respect to the body. In this study, two transformation procedures were utilized to compare magnetocardiograms (MCG) recorded with two different multisensor systems. Signals from one sensor array were used to compute parameters of a multipole expansion or minimum-norm estimates at 1-ms steps over the cardiac cycle. The signals of the second sensor array were then simulated from the computed estimates and compared against measured data. Both the multipole- and the minimum-norm-based transformation method yielded good results; the average correlation between simulated and measured signals was 93%. Thus, the methods are useful to compare MCG recordings performed using differing sensor configurations, e.g., for multicenter patient studies. This study provides the first empirical basis for assessing the transformation of MCG data of differing devices by general model-based field reconstructions.

Non-invasive long-term recordings of cortical ‘direct current’ (DC–) activity in humans using magnetoencephalography

Recently, biomagnetic fields below 0.1 Hz arising from nerve or muscle injury currents have been measured non-invasively using superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). Here we report first long-term recordings of cortical direct current (DC) fields in humans based on a horizontal modulation (0.4 Hz) of the body and, respectively, head position beneath the sensor array: near-DC fields with amplitudes between 90 and 540 fT were detected in 5/5 subjects over the auditory cortex throughout prolonged stimulation periods (here: 30 s) during which subjects were listening to concert music. These results prove the feasibility to record non-invasively low amplitude near-DC magnetic fields of the human brain and open the perspective for studies on DC-phenomena in stroke, such as anoxic depolarization or periinfarct depolarization, and in migraine patients.

Liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance at low fields using a nitrogen cooled superconducting quantum interference device

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of liquids were studied at fields from 470nTto65μT using a nitrogen cooled radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device. The authors demonstrated that low field NMR measurements with this device are feasible and may yield useful information. In particular, they determined the natural linewidth of distilled water to be 0.17±0.06Hz. In addition, they recorded J-coupled spectra of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol in a measurement field regime that was determined to provide the best signal-to-noise ratio. Four peaks with frequency differences of about 2Hz were well separated.

Nuclear magnetic resonance in the earth’s magnetic field using a nitrogen-cooled superconducting quantum interference device

The authors recorded nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of water, benzene, fluorobenzene, and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol in the earth’s magnetic field (EMF) using a nitrogen-cooled superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). In trifluoroethanol, the broadband detection characteristics of the SQUID with a noise floor of about 70fT∕√Hz enabled authors to simultaneously observe fluorine and proton spectra at 1940 and 2060Hz Larmor frequency, reflecting their heteronuclear J coupling in the high-field limit without showing a measurable chemical shift. To reduce the noise in EMF-NMR, the authors suggest the use of frequency-adjusted averaging, which compensates line broadening due to EMF fluctuations.

dc Magnetoencephalography: Direct measurement in a magnetically extremely-well shielded room

Direct measurement of slow brain activity in the range of seconds is reported. The measurements were made by superconducting quantum interference devices operating in a magnetically extremely well-shielded room. Directly measured dc magnetoencephalography (MEG) reveals that sustained fields of the brain rise with a sharp slope immediately after motor stimulation, whereas their relaxation to the resting level is slower and is delayed by several seconds. These features of sustained brain activity could not be resolved by modulated dc MEG which was applied earlier to study these phenomena.