We present the results of measurements on a single crystal sample of scandium metal at temperatures down to 100 ΜK using nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR). We find two regimes in the relaxation curves: an initial fast relaxation, followed by a slower relaxation consistent with the three exponential recovery expected for an I = 7/2 system in zero external magnetic field. The Korringa constant for this longer time relaxation in our sample is 90 +- 9 msec K−1. By observing deviations in the ratio of the intensities of adjacent nuclear spin transitions at the lowest attainable temperatures, we have been able to make a determination of the sign of the total electric field gradient present in the crystal. We find that the lowest energy state of the nuclear spin system corresponds to m I = +-7/2. A combination of these deviations and pulse NQR allows us to use this system as an absolute thermometer in the ΜKelvin regime.
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Pollack, L., Smith, E.N., Parpia, J.M. et al. Determination of the electric field gradient and relaxation time measurements in scandium metal at very low temperature. J Low Temp Phys 87, 753–772 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118333
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118333