Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Relaxation in Liquid In, Sb, and InSb

Abstract

Measurements of the Knight shift and nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate of ${\mathrm{In}}^{115}$, ${\mathrm{Sb}}^{121}$, and ${\mathrm{Sb}}^{123}$ in liquid In, liquid Sb, and liquid InSb are reported over temperatures ranging from near the respective melting points up to 1200-1450\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. An attempt to relate the observed relaxation rates to existing theories indicates that the latter are not adequate to explain all aspects of the observations. In the case of InSb, where an unusual temperature dependence appears in the quadrupolar contribution to the relaxation rate of the Sb isotopes, it is proposed that important changes occur in the electronic structure of the liquid metal as its temperature is raised above the melting point.