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Title: The spin and orbital contributions to the total magnetic moments of free Fe, Co, and Ni clusters

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4929482· OSTI ID:22489567
; ; ;  [1]; ;  [2];  [3]; ; ;  [4]
  1. Fachbereich Chemie and Forschungszentrum OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern (Germany)
  2. Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstrasse 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany and DESY-CFEL, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg (Germany)
  3. Helmholtz-Zentrum für Materialien und Energie, BESSY II, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany)
  4. Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chausee 149, 22761 Hamburg (Germany)

We present size dependent spin and orbital magnetic moments of cobalt (Co{sub n}{sup +}, 8 ≤ n ≤ 22), iron (Fe{sub n}{sup +}, 7 ≤ n ≤ 17), and nickel cluster (Ni{sub n}{sup +}, 7 ≤ n ≤ 17) cations as obtained by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopy of isolated clusters in the gas phase. The spin and orbital magnetic moments range between the corresponding atomic and bulk values in all three cases. We compare our findings to previous XMCD data, Stern-Gerlach data, and computational results. We discuss the application of scaling laws to the size dependent evolution of the spin and orbital magnetic moments per atom in the clusters. We find a spin scaling law “per cluster diameter,” ∼n{sup −1/3}, that interpolates between known atomic and bulk values. In remarkable contrast, the orbital moments do likewise only if the atomic asymptote is exempt. A concept of “primary” and “secondary” (induced) orbital moments is invoked for interpretation.

OSTI ID:
22489567
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 143, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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