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In fluidized granular matter (such as rapidly flowing sand) heat can flow from colder to hotter granular temperatures, violating Fourier’s law. A simple heuristic explanation for this anomalous heat current is presented, based on the non-equilibrium nature of granular fluids. The heuristic explanation leads to a straightforward calculation of the heat current which is in good agreement with existing, more detailed calculations and with recent experiments.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are described for gas-fluidized granular beds, which are important systems for many materials-processing operations. Using pulsed field gradient, magnetic resonance imaging, and hyperpolarized gas NMR, detailed information is obtained for the density and motions of both grains and interstitial gas. In particular, dynamic correlations in the grain density are used to measure the bubble velocity and hyperpolarized xenon gas NMR is used to measure the bubble-emulsion exchange rate. A goal of these measurements is to verify in earth gravity first-principles theories of granular flows.

We report initial NMR studies of gas dynamics in a particle bed fluidized by laser-polarized xenon (129Xe) gas. We have made preliminary measurements of two important characteristics: gas exchange between the bubble and emulsion phases and the gas velocity distribution in the bed. We used T2* contrast to differentiate the bubble and emulsion phases by choosing solid particles with large magnetic susceptibility. Experimental tests demonstrated that this method was successful in eliminating 129Xe magnetization in the emulsion phase, which enabled us to observe the time dependence of the bubble magnetization. By employing the pulsed field gradient method, we also measured the gas velocity distribution within the bed. These results clearly show the onset of bubbling and can be used to deduce information about gas and particle motion in the fluidized bed.

We report initial NMR studies of continuous flow laser-polarized xenon gas, both in unrestricted tubing, and in a model porous media. The study uses Pulsed Gradient Spin Echo-based techniques in the gas-phase, with the aim of obtaining more sophisticated information than just translational self-diffusion coefficients. Pulsed Gradient Echo studies of continuous flow laser-polarized xenon gas in unrestricted tubing indicate clear diffraction minima resulting from a wide distribution of velocities in the flow field. The maximum velocity experienced in the flow can be calculated from this minimum, and is seen to agree with the information from the complete velocity spectrum, or motion propagator, as well as previously published images. The susceptibility of gas flows to parameters such as gas mixture content, and hence viscosity, are observed in experiments aimed at identifying clear structural features from echo attenuation plots of gas flow in porous media. Gas-phase NMR scattering, or position correlation flow-diffraction, previously clearly seen in the echo attenuation data from laser-polarized xenon flowing through a 2 mm glass bead pack is not so clear in experiments using a different gas mixture. A propagator analysis shows most gas in the sample remains close to static, while a small portion moves through a presumably near-unimpeded path at high velocities.

The lattice dynamics of solid He-4 has been explored using pulsed NMR methods to study the motion of He-3 impurities in the temperature range (0.05-0.20 K) where experiments have revealed anomalies attributed to superflow or unexpected viscoelastic properties of the solid He-4 lattice. We report the results of measurements of the nuclear spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times that measure the fluctuation spectrum at high and low frequencies, respectively, of the He-3 motion that results from quantum tunneling in the He-4 matrix. The measurements were made for He-3 concentrations 16 < x(3) < 2000 ppm. For He-3 concentrations x(3) = 16 and 24 ppm, large changes are observed for both the spin-lattice relaxation time T-1 and the spin-spin relaxation time T-2 at temperatures close to those for which the anomalies are observed in measurements of torsional oscillator responses and the shear modulus. These changes in the NMR relaxation rates were not observed for higher He-3 concentrations.

We report measurements of the nuclear spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times of very dilute 3He in solid 4He in the temperature range 0.01 \leq T \leq 0.5 K for densities where anomalies have been observed in torsional oscillator and shear modulus measurements. We compare the results with the values of the relaxation times reported by other observers for higher concentrations and the theory of Landesman that takes into account the elastic properties of the 4He lattice. A sharp increase in the magnitude of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation times compared to the the classical Landesman theory is observed close to the temperatures where the torsional and shear modulus anomalies are observed. The NMR results suggest that the tunneling of 3He impurities in the atomic-scale elastic distortion is affected by the same processes that give rise to the macroscopic elastic dissipation anomalies., 4 pages, 4 figures

The viscosity is measured for a Fermi liquid, a dilute $^3$He-$^4$He mixture, under extremely high magnetic field/temperature conditions ($B \leq 14.8$ T, $T \geq 1.5$ mK). The spin splitting energy $\mu B$ is substantially greater than the Fermi energy $k_B T_F$; as a consequence the polarization tends to unity and s-wave quasiparticle scattering is suppressed for $T \ll T_F$. Using a novel composite vibrating-wire viscometer an enhancement of the viscosity is observed by a factor of more than 500 over its low-field value. Good agreement is found between the measured viscosity and theoretical predictions based upon a $t$-matrix formalism., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We report experimental studies of the effect of interstitial gas on mass-density-segregation in a vertically-vibrated mixture of equal-sized bronze and glass spheres. Sufficiently strong vibration in the presence of interstitial gas induces vertical segregation into sharply separated bronze and glass layers. We find that the segregated steady state (i.e., bronze or glass layer on top) is a sensitive function of gas pressure and viscosity, as well as vibration frequency and amplitude. In particular, we identify distinct regimes of behavior that characterize the change from bronze-on-top to glass-on-top steady-state., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PRL; accepted in PRE as rapid communication, with revised text and references

Measurements of the 3He nuclear spin relaxation times of dilute 3He impurities in solid 4He have been used to explore the unusual dynamics of solid 4He at low temperatures. The 3He impurities move through the lattice by quantum mechanical exchange with neighboring 4He atoms. Because of the larger zero point motion of the 3He atoms, there is an appreciable lattice distortion that accompanies the tunneling 3 He atom and the tunneling motion depends on the elastic properties of the 4He lattice. This motion modulates the 3He-3He nuclear dipole- dipole interactions and thus determines the NMR relaxation rates. We compare the observed temperature dependence of the NMR relaxation rates with that expected from the measurements of the shear modulus by Syshchenko et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 195301 (2009)].

A three-dimensional granular system fluidized by vertical container vibrations was studied using pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR coupled with one-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The system consisted of mustard seeds vibrated vertically at 50 Hz, and the number of layers N_ell, 14 pages, 15 figures

A comment is made on the recent PFG NMR measurements by Stallmach, et al. on water-saturated sands [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 105505 (2002)]. It is pointed out that the usual law for the time-dependent diffusion coefficient D(t) used by these authors is not valid for a fractal surface. It is shown that (1-D(t)/D0) \~ t^[(3-Ds)/2] at short times for a surface of fractal dimension Ds, where D0 is the bulk diffusion coefficient. Preliminary PFG NMR data on water saturated limestone and plastic beads are presented to illustrate this analysis., 1 page, 1 figure

We have used an NMR technique to measure the short-time, three-dimensional displacement of grains in a system of mustard seeds vibrated vertically at 15g. The technique averages over a time interval in which the grains move ballistically, giving a direct measurement of the granular temperature profile. The dense, lower portion of the sample is well described by a recent hydrodynamic theory for inelastic hard spheres. Near the free upper surface the mean free path is longer than the particle diameter and the hydrodynamic description fails., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Fast NMR imaging was used to measure the density profile of a three-dimensional granular medium fluidized by vertical vibrations of the container. For container acceleration much larger than gravity, the rise in center of mass of the granular medium is found to scale as (v0^alpha)/(N^beta) with alpha = 1.0 +/-0.2 and beta = 0.5 +/- 0.1, where v0 is the vibration velocity and N is the number of grains in the container. This value for alpha is significantly less than found previously for experiments and simulations in one dimension (alpha = 2) and two dimensions (alpha = 1.3-1.5)., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures