  In recent years, spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) has emerged as an
efficient way to probe the spontaneous magnetization state in ordered magnetic
systems, by electrical current. Less known is its versatility as a probe of
materials that do not possess spontaneous magnetization such as in paramagnets.
In this work, SMR is used to probe paramagnetic NdGaO3 (NGO), a rare earth
oxide, possessing a sizable spin orbit interaction (L=6). NGO has not been
investigated earlier for its efficiency in propagating spins. We have performed
extensive temperature and angle dependent-magnetoresistance (ADMR) studies
along dissimilar crystallographic axes in NGO, using platinum (Pt) as spin
injector and detector and utilizing (inverse) spin Hall effect. We find a close
correlation between the temperature dependence of the ADMR response with
magnetization in NGO and a linear current bias dependence of the ADMR
amplitudes. These are chacteristics of SMR effect in Pt/NGO, arising from the
torque acting on localized moments in NGO and considering crystal field induced
intermultiplet transitions with temperature. Control experiments on Pt/SrTiO3
and Pt/SiO2 devices were also carried out in order to validate the observed SMR
response in Pt/NGO bilayer and to rule out magnetoresistive contributions from
Pt.
