Itinerant Nature of Atom-Magnetization Excitation by Tunneling Electrons

We have performed single-atom magnetization curve (SAMC) measurements and inelastic scanning tunneling spectroscopy (ISTS) on individual Fe atoms on a Cu(111) surface. The SAMCs show a broad distribution of magnetic moments with \(\unit[3.5]{\mu_{\rm B}}\) being the mean value. ISTS reveals a magnet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2010-11
Main Authors: Alexander Ako Khajetoorians, Lounis, Samir, Chilian, Bruno, Costa, Antonio T, Zhou, Lihui, Mills, Douglas L, Wiebe, Jens, Wiesendanger, Roland
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Excitation
Magnetic moments
Magnetism
Magnetization
Magnetization curves
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We have performed single-atom magnetization curve (SAMC) measurements and inelastic scanning tunneling spectroscopy (ISTS) on individual Fe atoms on a Cu(111) surface. The SAMCs show a broad distribution of magnetic moments with \(\unit[3.5]{\mu_{\rm B}}\) being the mean value. ISTS reveals a magnetization excitation with a lifetime of \(\unit[200]{fsec}\) which decreases by a factor of two upon application of a magnetic field of \(\unit[12]{T}\). The experimental observations are quantitatively explained by the decay of the magnetization excitation into Stoner modes of the itinerant electron system as shown by newly developed theoretical modeling.
ISSN:2331-8422