We show that a finite cutoff of the hydrodynamic modes (order fluctuations) in the nematic liquid-crystalline phase explains the measured spin-lattice relaxation in this phase. A calculation of T₁ based upon such a cutoff and a fit to the data of MBBA (4-n-methoxybenzylidene-4{'} -n-butylaniline) show this cutoff to be 1 molecular length. At T_1ρ frequencies, far from the cutoff, order fluctuations are shown to be the dominant relaxation mechanism. This is done by comparing the predicted angular dependence of T_1ρ for these modes with that measured in MBBA.
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Doane et al. (1974) studied this question.
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