Nuclear polarization of hydrogen molecules from recombination of polarizedatoms - art. no. 042701

The nuclear polarization of H-2 molecules formed by recombination of polari zed H atoms on a Cu surface was measured as a function of external magnetic field and of temperature of the surface. The proton polarization of the mo lecules was determined by scattering of a longitudinally polarized 203-MeV proton beam in the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility storage ring. The nuclear polarization of the molecules, relative to the polarization of the atoms before recombination, increased from near zero in a weak magnetic fie ld to 0.42 +/- 0.02 in a 0.66 T field. A simple model of the relaxation acc ounts quantitatively for the observations.