Relaxation dynamics in a Fe7 nanomagnet

E. Garlatti, S. Carretta, P. Santini, G. Amoretti, M. Mariani, A. Lascialfari, S. Sanna, K. Mason, J. Chang, P. Tasker, E. K. Brechin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We investigate the phonon-induced relaxation dynamics in the Fe-7 magnetic molecule, which is made of two Fe3+ triangles bridged together by a central Fe3+ ion. The competition between different antiferromagnetic exchange interactions leads to a low-spin ground state multiplet with a complex pattern of low-lying excited levels. We theoretically investigate the decay of the time correlation function of molecular observables, such as the cluster magnetization, due to the spin-phonon interaction. We find that more than one time contributes to the decay of the molecular magnetization. The relaxation dynamics is probed by measurements of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T-1. The interpretation of these measurements allows the determination of the magnetoelastic coupling strength and to set the scale factor of the relaxation dynamics time scales. In our theoretical interpretation of 1/T-1 data we also take into account the wipeout effect at low temperatures.

Original languageEnglish
Article number054409
Number of pages7
JournalPhysical review B
Volume87
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Feb 2013

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