Paramagnetic Resonance as a Probe of the Spin Gap in Normal State of Superconductor

Abstract

It is shown that electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) can be used to observe the spin gap in copper oxide superconductors. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of the Cu2+ ion in underdoped show a pronounced decrease in intensity in the normal state as the temperature is lowered to 133 K, the superconducting transition temperature of the material. The decrease is attributed to a pairing of the Cu2+   spins to form a spin gap. A spin gap of 0.0533 eV is estimated from the data which is in order of magnitude agreement with values obtained from NMR measurements.