Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: We report on a single-molecule magnet where the spatial arrangement of three manganese ions and their spin-orbit coupling tensor orientations result in threefold angular modulations of the magnetization tunneling rates and quantum interference patterns that mimic the form of a three-leaf clover. Although expected in all quantum tunneling of magnetization resonances for a trigonal molecular symmetry, the threefold modulation only appears at resonances for which a longitudinal magnetic field is applied (i.e., resonance numbers |k|>0). A sixfold transverse field modulation observed at resonance k = 0 manifests as a direct consequence of a threefold corrugation of the spin-orbit coupling energy landscape, creating an effective longitudinal field which varies the resonance condition in the presence of a transverse field. The observations allow for an association between the trigonal distortion of the local spin-orbit interactions and the spatial disposition of the constituent ions, a finding that can be extrapolated to other systems where spin-orbit coupling plays a significant role.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institutions: University of Central Florida, University of Edinburgh
Language: English
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Supramolecular Synthesis of Molecular Clusters: Topological Control of Hybrid Nanomagnets, G3860910598, CAREER: Investigation of the Quantum Dynamics of High-Spin States of Single-Molecule Magnets: Decoherence and Spin Manipulation, Molecular Magnets: From Cages to Supramolecular Assemblies, High Symmetry Paramagnetic Cages, G6083523515, G710870102
OpenAlex ID: W2008144978