Frequency Dependence of the Cyclotron Mass and of the Relaxation Time in Lead and Mercury

Abstract

We report a series of Azbel'-Kaner cyclotron resonance experiments in lead and mercury at wavelengths varying from 9 to 1 mm. We observe that in both metals the electron-phonon relaxation time is frequency dependent ($\tau \propto {\omega }^{-2\mathrm{}}$ in lead), and that the effective mass increases slightly for the highest frequency in mercury (3 ± 1% at $\lambda =1\mathrm{}$ mm).