We introduce a method for non-destructive quantification of nuclear spin polarization, of relevance to hyperpolarized spin tracers widely used in magnetic resonance from spectroscopy to in vivo imaging. In a bias field of around 30 nT we use a high-sensitivity miniaturized 87Rb vapor magnetometer to measure the field generated by the sample, as it is driven by a windowed dynamical decoupling pulse sequence that both maximizes the nuclear spin lifetime and modulates the polarization for easy detection. We demonstrate the procedure applied to a 0.08 M hyperpolarized [1--13C]-pyruvate solution produced by dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization, measuring polarization repeatedly during natural decay at Earth's field. Application to real-time quality monitoring of hyperpolarized substances is discussed.
@article{arxiv.2301.06607,
title = {Real-time polarimetry of hyperpolarized $^{13}$C nuclear spins using an atomic magnetometer},
author = {Kostas Mouloudakis and Sven Bodenstedt and Marc Azagra and Morgan W Mitchell and Irene Marco-Rius and Michael CD Tayler},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.06607},
year = {2023}
}