Exploiting level anti-crossings (LACs) in the rotating frame for transferring spin hyperpolarization

A method of transferring hyperpolarization among scalar-coupled nuclear spins is proposed, which is based on spin mixing at energy Level Anti-Crossing (LAC) regions. To fulfill LAC conditions a resonant RF-field was applied with properly set frequency and amplitude. In this situation LACs occur between the nuclear spin levels in the rotating doubly tilted reference frame. The validity of the approach is demonstrated by taking as an example the transfer of para-hydrogen induced polarization in a symmetric molecule, whose coupled spin network can be modeled as a four-spin AA'MM'-system with two pairs of 'isochronous' spins. For this spin system LAC positions have been identified; rules for the sign of spin polarization have been established. The dependence of the polarization transfer efficiency on the RF-field parameters and on the time profile of switching off the RF-field has been studied in detail; experimental results are in excellent agreement with the theory developed. In general, exploiting LACs in the rotating doubly tilted frame is a powerful tool for manipulating hyperpolarization in multispin systems.