Population densities, of nuclear spin

In an alternative formulation of the Redfield theory, one expresses the density operator by expansion in a suitable operator basis set and formulates the equation of motion directly in terms of the expectation values of the operators (18,20,50). Consider a system of two nuclear spins with the spin quantum number of 1/2,1, and N, interacting with each other through the scalar J-coupling and dipolar interaction. In an isotropic liquid, the former interaction gives rise to J-split doublets, while the dipolar interaction acts as a relaxation mechanism. For the discussion of such a system, the appropriate sixteen-dimensional basis set can for example consist of the unit operator, E, the operators corresponding to the Cartesian components of the two spins, Ix, ly, Iz, Nx, Ny, Nz and the products of the components of I and the components of N (49). These sixteen operators span the Liouville space for our two-spin system. If we concentrate on the longitudinal relaxation (the relaxation connected to the distribution of populations), the Redfield theory predicts the relaxation to follow a set of three coupled differential equations ... 

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