Spin-lattice relaxation time of conduction electrons in alkali metals: Sodium

Abstract

A theory of the spin-lattice relaxation timeT 1 of conduction electrons in liquid and solid alkali metals has been calculated here. TheT 1 is expressed in terms of the dynamical structure factor which includes a Debye phonon spectrum. The normal and umklapp processes are calculated separately. We find that the transverse phonons contribute greatly to the unklapp process. We also have measured the temperature dependence ofT 1 in sodium metal from 100°K to 600°K. The experimental data are in fair agreement with our theory from 13°K to 600°K.