Electron spin resonance signal of Luttinger liquids and single-wall carbon nanotubes

Abstract

A comprehensive theory of electron spin resonance (ESR) for a Luttinger liquid (LL) state of correlated metals is presented. The ESR measurables such as the signal intensity and the line-width are calculated in the framework of Luttinger liquid theory with broken spin rotational symmetry as a function of magnetic field and temperature. We obtain a significant temperature dependent homogeneous line-broadening which is related to the spin symmetry breaking and the electron-electron interaction. The result crosses over smoothly to the ESR of itinerant electrons in the non-interacting limit. These findings explain the absence of the long-sought ESR signal of itinerant electrons in single-wall carbon nanotubes when considering realistic experimental conditions.