Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2026

Visualizing Uniaxial-strain Manipulation of Antiferromagnetic Domains in Fe1+YTe Using a Spin-polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Published on: March 24, 2019
Symmetry of magnetic quantum tunneling in single molecule magnet Mn12-acetate
E del Barco1, A D Kent, E M Rumberger
1Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, New York 10003, USA. delbarco@physics.nyu.edu
Abstract:
The symmetry of magnetic quantum tunneling has been studied in the prototype single molecule magnet Mn12-acetate using a micro-Hall effect magnetometer and superconducting high field vector magnet system. An average crystal fourfold symmetry is shown to be due to local molecular environments of twofold symmetry that are rotated by 90 degrees with respect to one another, confirming that disorder which lowers the molecule symmetry is as important to magnetic quantum tunneling. We have studied a subset of these lower (twofold) site symmetry molecules and present evidence for a Berry phase effect consistent with a local twofold symmetry.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Magnetic Resonance
π Electron Effects on Chemical Shift: Overview
Diamagnetism
Diamagnetism was discovered by Anton Brugmans in 1778 when he observed that bismuth gets repelled by magnetic fields, thus theorizing that diamagnets get repelled by magnets.
Paramagnetism
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Magnetic Moment
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview

