Electron-assisted magnetization tunneling in single spin systems

摘要

Magnetic excitations of single atoms on surfaces have been widely studiedexperimentally in the past decade. Lately, systems with unprecedented magneticstability started to emerge. Here, we present a general theoreticalinvestigation of the stability of rare-earth magnetic atoms exposed to crystalor ligand fields of various symmetry and to exchange scattering with anelectron bath. By analyzing the properties of the atomic wavefunction, we showthat certain combinations of symmetry and total angular momentum are inherentlystable against first or even higher order interactions with electrons. Further,we investigate the effect of an external magnetic field on the magneticstability.