Observation of field-induced spin-current relaxation in a Fermi liquid

Abstract

We have studied NMR spin echoes in $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ liquid in a magnetic field ${\mathit{B}}_{0}$=8 T for temperatures T\ensuremath{\ge}4.5 mK. The data are analyzed in terms of the Leggett-Rice effect to obtain the transverse spin-diffusion coefficient ${\mathit{D}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$(T). For T20 mK we find that ${\mathit{D}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$ is less than measured in earlier experiments at lower ${\mathit{B}}_{0}$. This phenomenon has been predicted for degenerate Fermi systems, due to the phase space created for quasiparticle scattering by spin polarization. The effect we have measured is more pronounced than suggested by scaling a dilute-gas theory result by a Fermi-liquid factor.