Spin noise of itinerant fermions

We develop a theory of spin-noise spectroscopy of itinerant, noninteracting, and spin-carrying fermions in different regimes of temperature and disorder. We use kinetic equations for the density matrix in spin variables. We find a general result with a clear physical interpretation, and discuss its dependence on temperature, the size of the system, and applied magnetic field. We consider two classes of experimental probes: (1) electron-spin-resonance-type measurements, in which the probe response to a uniform magnetization increases linearly with the volume sampled and (2) optical Kerr/Faraday rotation-type measurements, in which the probe response to a uniform magnetization increases linearly with the length of the light propagation in the sample but is independent of the cross section of the light beam. Our theory provides a framework for interpreting recent experiments on atomic gases and conduction electrons in semiconductors and provides a baseline for identifying the effects of interactions on spin-noise spectroscopy.