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Updated: Apr 24, 2026

Single-molecule Manipulation of G-quadruplexes by Magnetic Tweezers
Published on: September 19, 2017
Three-leaf quantum interference clovers in a trigonal single-molecule magnet
James H Atkinson1, Ross Inglis2, Enrique del Barco1
1Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32765, USA.
Abstract:
We report on a single-molecule magnet where the spatial arrangement of three manganese ions and their spin-orbit coupling tensor orientations result in threefold 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 resonances for a trigonal molecular symmetry, the threefold modulation only appears at resonances for which a longitudinal magnetic field is applied (i.e., resonance numbers |k|>0). A sixfold transverse field modulation observed at resonance k = 0 manifests as a direct consequence of a threefold 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.
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