Conduction-electron spin flip by phonons in metals: Analysis of experimental data

Abstract

We analyze the temperature-dependent part of the relaxation rate of conduction-electron spin in simple metals. According to the model of Elliott and Yafet the electron-spin-resonance (ESR) linewidth has the same temperature dependence as the resistivity. We have compared the experimentally measured ESR linewidth of Na, K, Rb, Cs, Cu, Ag, Au, Al, Be, and Mg by scaling it with the inverse of the square of the spin-orbit perturbation and plotting it versus reduced temperature, that is, $\frac{T}{{T}_{\mathrm{Debye}}}$. A universal, Gr\"uneisen-like curve is indeed followed by the monovalent metals, but large deviations appear in the cases of Al, Mg, and Be. The implications of these behaviors are discussed.