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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Spin Saturation Transfer Difference NMR (SSTD NMR): A New Tool to Obtain Kinetic Parameters of Chemical Exchange Processes
Published on: November 12, 2016
Spin-exchange collisions of submerged shell atoms below 1 Kelvin
J G E Harris1, S V Nguyen, S C Doret
1Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
Abstract:
Angular momentum changing collisions can be suppressed in atoms whose valence electrons are submerged beneath filled shells of higher principle quantum number. To determine whether spin-exchange collisions are suppressed in these "submerged shell" atoms, we measured collisional rates for six hyperfine states of Mn at T < 1 K. Although the 3d valence electrons in Mn are submerged beneath a filled 4s orbital, we find spin-exchange rate coefficients similar to Na and H (both nonsubmerged shell atoms).
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