Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

NMR 15N Relaxation Experiments for the Investigation of Picosecond to Nanoseconds Structural Dynamics of Proteins
Published on: November 1, 2024
Quantum and classical relaxation in the proton glass
Yejun Feng1, C Ancona-Torres, T F Rosenbaum
1The James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Abstract:
The hydrogen-bond network formed from a crystalline solution of ferroelectric RbH2PO4 and antiferroelectric NH4H2PO4 demonstrates glassy behavior, with proton tunneling the dominant mechanism for relaxation at low temperature. We characterize the dielectric response over seven decades of frequency and quantitatively fit the long-time relaxation by directly measuring the local potential energy landscape via neutron Compton scattering. The collective motion of protons rearranges the hydrogen bonds in the network. By analogy with vortex tunneling in superconductors, we relate the logarithmic decay of the polarization to the quantum-mechanical action.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation
In spin–lattice or longitudinal relaxation, the excited spins exchange energy with the surrounding lattice as they return to the lower energy level. Among several mechanisms that contribute to spin–lattice relaxation, magnetic dipolar interactions are significant. Here, the excited nucleus transfers energy to a nearby...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
The de Broglie Wavelength
The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution

