Work

Particle detection using magnetic avalanches in single-molecule magnet crystals

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The detection of a single quantum of energy with high efficiency and a low false positive rate is of considerable scientific interest, from serving as single quantum sensors of optical and infrared photons to enabling the direct detection of low-mass dark matter. We confirm our initial experimental demonstration of magnetic avalanches induced by scattering of quanta in single-molecule magnet (SMM) crystals made of Mn 12 acetate, establishing the use of SMMs as particle detectors for the first time. Although the current setup has an energy threshold in the MeV regime, our results motivate the exploration of a wide variety of SMMs whose properties could allow for detection of sub-eV energy depositions.

Source: Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

DOI: 10.1103/r1x8-qc2f

Authors: Bailey Kohn, Hao Chen, Rupak Mahapatra, Glenn Agnolet, Ivan Borzenets, Philip C. Bunting, Jeffrey R. Long, Minjie Lu, Tom Melia, Michael Nippe, Lok Raj Pant, Surjeet Rajendran, Anna Schmautz, Amis Sharma

Institutions: Texas A&M University, Fudan University, University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo, Johns Hopkins University

Language: English

Topic: Magnetism in coordination complexes

Subfield: Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Welch Foundation, Texas A and M University, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Office of Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Division of Chemistry, Basic Energy Sciences

Awards: THE SUPERCDMS PROGRAM AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, Digging deeper into effective field theory, New Pathways Connecting Theory and Experiment, G4553473049, Theoretical Physics of Fundamental and Cosmological Interactions, Effective field theory for sub-MeV dark matter direct detection, A Coordination Chemistry Approach to the Synthesis of Single-Molecule Magnets, G6353557677, G6883129769, ULTRA-LOW THRESHOLD CRYOGENIC HIGH VOLTAGE DETECTORS FOR WIMP SEARCH AND COHERENT NEUTRINO SCATTERING EXPERIMENTS, MAGNETIC AVALANCHE DETECTOR USING SINGLE-MOLECULE MAGNETS FOR DARK MATTER AND NEUTRINO DETECTION, G855854850, G8671621397, MeV Gamma-ray Particle/Atmic/Astro Physics

OpenAlex ID: W4417105037

FWCI: 4.442

Cites: 42

Cited by: 5

Related to: 10