An approximate analytical expression for the nuclear quadrupole transverse relaxation rate of half-integer spins in liquids.

The nuclear quadrupole transverse relaxation process of half-integer spins in liquid samples is known to exhibit multi-exponential behaviors. Within the framework of Redfield's relaxation theory, exact analytical expressions for describing such a process exist only for spin-3/2 nuclei. As a result, analyses of nuclear quadrupole transverse relaxation data for half-integer quadrupolar nuclei with spin >3/2 must rely on numerical diagonalization of the Redfield relaxation matrix over the entire motional range. In this work we propose an approximate analytical expression that can be used to analyze nuclear quadrupole transverse relaxation data of any half-integer spin in liquids over the entire motional range. The proposed equation yields results that are in excellent agreement with the exact numerical calculations.