Investigation of Metastable Xenon

In this investigation, we observe magnetic resonance signals of metastable 129Xe sealed in a pyrex cell. We use external RF electrodes to generate the metastable Xe atoms. The metastable 129Xe is optically pumped by a diode laser tuned to the optical resonance of the metastable state. The hyperfine resonance signal of metastable 129Xe has been observed for the first time in a discharge cell, and a 20% polarization of metastable 129Xe atoms has been measured. We also measured the line widths of the Zeeman transitions and hyperfine transitions, which we compare with previous measurements of Zeeman resonances.