The first observation of Berry phase interference in a molecular magnet of trigonal symmetry.
PUBLISHED IN PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
We have recently reported on a single-molecule magnet where the spatial arrangement of three manganese ions and their spin-orbit coupling tensor orientations result in three-fold 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 QTM resonances for a trigonal molecular symmetry, the three-fold modulation only appears at resonances for which a longitudinal magnetic field is applied (i.e., resonances numbers |k| > 0). A six-fold transverse field modulation observed at resonance k = 0 manifests as a direct consequence of a three-fold 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.
The results have been recently published in Physical Review Letters.
See other articles in this and similar topics.
See more on this particular research topic. (add link when the corresponding project page is created)