Nuclear quadrupolar relaxation of Sb in liquid In-Sb alloys

In the In_1-cSb_c alloys the nuclear spin relaxation of Sb is measured using the TDPAD technique on the 340 mu s isomer ^117mSb which is produced and aligned by the nuclear reaction ¹¹⁵In( alpha ,2n). The temperatures and compositions studied are: at T=900K, 0<or=c<or=0.8; at c=0, 430K<or=T<or=1000K; and at c=0.5, 770K<or=T<or=1100K. These measurements complement and extend existing NMR data for Sb in In_1-cSb_c. The quadrupolar contribution to the rate (T_Q^-1) is found to dominate for ^117mSb. Its temperature dependence (at c=0.5) and concentration dependence (over the full range 0<or=c<or=1) can be described fairly well by the current theory of T_Q^-1 for a random substitutional metallic alloy. The parameters entering the theory are discussed. The quadrupole moment of the isomer ^117mSb is determined as Q=(-)0.54(20) barn.