Anomalous magnetic properties of metallic V₂O₃ under pressure

The 51V NMR shift and the spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T1) have been measured in the metallic paramagnetic state of a V2O3 powder sample under pressure. The spin susceptibility deduced from the shift data has a maximum at T=40K. Also, a peak was observed in 1/T1T at T=8K. These phenomena resemble the spin-gap behavior observed in lightly doped cuprate superconductors. The anisotropy of the shift and 1/T1 measured on a single crystal at ambient pressure suggests, however, that nuclear relaxation at high temperatures is mostly due to orbital moments. © 1996 The American Physical Society.