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Tunneling of spins in molecular nanomagnets
Molecular nanomagnets, sometimes referred to as single
molecule magnets, have attracted a great deal of recent
attention for interesting behavior that is borderline
between the classical and quantum mechanical regimes, and
because of their potential usefulness for high-density
data storage and quantum computation. Quantum mechanical
processes are observed in these materials on a macroscopic
scale in the form of steps in the magnetization curves.
Two particularly simple prototypes, Mn12-acetate and Fe8,
have been studied in great detail. Typical behavior of
the class will be examined by considering Mn12-acetate:
the structure of the molecule, the tetragonal (four-fold
symmetric) crystal, the Hamiltonian that models the
behavior, and the tunneling process that gives rise to the
magnetization steps.
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