Zero temperature spin wave damping in spin polarized 3He:: Does it exist?

Previous spin echo experiments at equilibrium polarizations in He-3-He-4 mixtures have confirmed the prediction of zero temperature polarization-induced spin wave damping in Fermi liquids. We have measured the damping of spin waves in dilute He-3, spin polarized by a He-4 circulating dilution refrigerator. The maximum polarization is almost a factor of 5 higher than the equilibrium polarization in a magnetic field of 10.54 T at temperatures between 10 and 25 mK. The spin wave damping is much smaller than expected on the basis of the spin echo experiments and shows that the existence of polarization-induced spin wave damping is an open question.