Temperature dependence of nuclear magnetization and relaxation

The temperature dependences of nuclear magnetization and relaxation rates are reviewed theoretically and experimentally in order to quantify the effects of temperature on NMR signals acquired by common imaging techniques. Using common sequences, the temperature dependences of the equilibrium nuclear magnetization and relaxation times must each be considered to fully understand the effects of temperature on NMR images. The temperature dependence of the equilibrium nuclear magnetization is negative because of Boltzmann's distribution for all substances at all temperatures, but the combined temperature dependences of the equilibrium magnetization and relaxation can be negative, weak or positive depending on the temperature (T), echo time (TE), repetition time (TR), and the temperature dependences of the relaxation times T1 (T) and T2 (T) in a pulse sequence. As a result, the magnitude of the NMR signal from a given substance can decrease, increase or stay somewhat constant with increasing temperature. Nuclear thermal coefficients are defined and predictions for spin echo and other simple sequences are verified experimentally using a number of substances representing various thermal and NMR properties.