The return to equilibrium (high energy protons returns to the low energy state) within the lattice is named the T1, spin lattice or longitudinal relaxation. During the time T1, the spinning protons realign with the external magnetic field with an exchange of their energy, resulting in heat. The value of the T1 time depends of the tissues ability for energy exchange.

See also Longitudinal Relaxation Time.

The dephasing of the protons is named the T2, spin-spin or transverse relaxation. The T2 time constant is the time taken for spinning protons to lose phase coherence among the nuclei spinning perpendicular to the main field. This interaction between spins results in a reduction in the transverse magnetization. The value of T2 depends on the mobility of the protons. A large mobility results in an average magnetic field variation of zero, resulting in a long T2 period of this tissue.

See also T2 Time.

After RF excitation the spins will tend to return to their equilibrium distribution in which there is no transverse magnetization and the longitudinal magnetization is at its maximum value and oriented in the direction of the static magnetic field. The transverse magnetization decays toward zero with a characteristic time constant T2, and the longitudinal magnetization returns toward equilibrium with a characteristic time constant T1.

Reciprocals of the relaxation times, T1 and T2 (R1 = 1/T1 and R2 = 1/T2). There is often a linear relation between the concentration of MR contrast agents and the resulting change in relaxation rate. The rate of relaxation is influenced by molecules with protons that are tumbling. A slower tumble rate will result in faster relaxation rate (shorter relaxation time). Due to the molecular structure of fat with its larger size than water, fat will tumble slower than water molecules. The slower tumble rate of fat enables a faster relaxation rate.

The relaxation effect is the transition of an atom or molecule from a higher energy level to a lower one. The return of the excited proton from the high energy to the low energy level is associated with the loss of energy to the surrounding tissue. The T1 and T2 relaxation times define the way that the protons return to their resting levels after the initial radio frequency (RF) pulse. The T1 and T2 relaxation rates have an effect of the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of MR images.
The relaxation process is a result of both T1 and T2, and can be controlled by the dependency of one of the two biological parameters T1 and T2 in the recorded signal. A T1 weighted spin echo sequence is based on a short repetition time (TR) and a change of it will affect the acquisition time and the T1 weighting of the image. Increased TR results in improved SNR caused by longer recovering time for the longitudinal magnetization. Increased TE improves the T2 weighting, combined with a long TR (of several T1 times) to minimize the T1 effect.