Emergency Replacement of Vintage Aries NMR Console

我们是一个研究量子凝聚态物理的小组。我们研究了高关联电子材料所表现出的奇异量子现象，如自旋液体、量子临界性和新的超导电性。我们的主要实验探头是在低温环境下进行的核磁共振波谱。核磁共振是一种多功能的探头，在日常生活中有着广泛的应用。例如，用于医学诊断的磁共振成像(MRI)依赖于人体内的质子核磁共振，而石油行业则使用核磁共振来测试地下2000米处石油的性质。自1994年以来，我们成功地与三个超导磁体(9~16特斯拉)和高压室一起建立了场扫描和频率扫描核磁共振技术的专业知识。然而，我们实验室中的一些较旧的设备正接近其使用寿命。特别是，我们1994年由Tecmag Corporation制造的ARIES核磁共振光谱仪控制台已经成为我们研究和学生培训活动的主要障碍。这是因为白羊座只能从1999年款的Apple Power Mac G3台式电脑(或更老的型号)上获取实验数据。由于Apple G3电脑运行的是过时的Apple OS8操作系统，我的学生在利用现代计算机软件对他们的数据进行分类、绘制和分析方面存在困难。更糟糕的是，我们的两台老式白羊座游戏机中的一台几年前出了故障，无法修复，其余的白羊座游戏机最近出现了在数据采集过程中导致挂起的倾向。尽管这些白羊座游戏机帮助我的学生进行了世界级的研究，并发表了许多备受瞩目的论文，包括我们最近在最负盛名的期刊上发表的文章，如《科学》杂志(Fu等人，2015)和物理评论X(Kinross等人，2014；也在物理视点上突出显示)，但它现在是借来的时间运行。我们现在必须采取行动，在白羊座突然走到生命的尽头、导致我的学生的论文项目出现灾难性的延误之前，立即用一个现代化的游戏机取代它。在这份提案中，我请求为Tecmag Corporation紧急购买Redstone核磁共振光谱仪控制台提供资金。Redstone是一款功能强大的核磁共振控制台，它利用了现代数字电子设备和Windows计算机的全部计算能力。新的现代核磁共振波谱仪将在未来几年帮助我的学生在最高水平上推进更多尖端研究。

We are a research group of quantum condensed matter physics. We investigate exotic quantum phenomena exhibited by highly correlated electron materials, such as spin liquids, quantum criticality, and novel superconductivity. Our primary experimental probe is Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy conducted in cryogenic environment. NMR is a versatile probe with a variety of applications in daily life. For example, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) used for medical diagnosis relies on proton NMR in human body, whereas the petroleum industry uses NMR to test the properties of oil 2,000 meters below the ground surface. Since 1994, we have successfully built up the expertise in field-swept, as well as frequency-swept NMR techniques in conjunction with three superconducting magnets (9 ~ 16 Tesla) and high-pressure cells. Some of our older equipment in our laboratory, however, is nearing the end of its useful life. In particular, our Aries NMR spectrometer console manufactured by Tecmag corporation in 1994 has become a major impediment to our research and student training activities. This is because the Aries can only acquire experimental data with the vintage 1999 model of Apple Power Mac G3 desktop computers (or older models). Since the Apple G3 computers run on the obsolete Apple OS8 operating system, my students have difficulties in taking advantage of modern computer software to sort, plot, and analyze their data. To make the matter worse, one of our two vintage Aries consoles failed a few years ago and it cannot be repaired, and the remaining Aries has recently developed a tendency to cause hang-ups during data acquisition. Although these Aries consoles helped my students conduct world-class research and publish a number of high profile papers, including our recent articles in the most prestigious journals such as Science magazine (Fu et al., 2015) and Physical Review X (Kinross et al., 2014; also highlighted online in Physics Viewpoint), it is now running on borrowed time. We must act now and replace the Aries with a modern console with no delays before it suddenly reaches the end of life and causes catastrophic delays in the dissertation projects of my students. In this proposal, I request funding for an emergency purchase of a Redstone NMR spectrometer console by Tecmag corporation. The Redstone is a powerful NMR console that takes advantage of the modern digital electronics and the full computing power of Windows computers. The new modern NMR spectrometer will help my students advance more cutting edge research at the highest level for years to come.