Nonlinear magneto-optical Faraday rotation (NMOR) on the potassium D1 and D2lines was used to study Zeeman relaxation rates in an antirelaxationparaffin-coated 3-cm diameter potassium vapor cell. Intrinsic Zeeman relaxationrates of $\gamma^{NMOR}/2\pi=2.0(6) {\rm Hz}$ were observed. The relativelysmall hyperfine intervals in potassium lead to significant differences in NMORin potassium compared to rubidium and cesium. Using laser optical pumping,widths and frequency shifts were also determined for transitions betweenground-state hyperfine sublevels of $^{39}$K atoms contained in the sameparaffin-coated cell. The intrinsic hyperfine relaxation rate of$\gamma^{hf}_{expt}/2\pi = 10.6(7) $Hz and a shift of $-9.1(2) $Hz wereobserved. These results show that adiabatic relaxation gives only a smallcontribution to the overall hyperfine relaxation in the case of potassium, andthe relaxation is dominated by other mechanisms similar to those observed inprevious studies with rubidium.
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