Dipolar ordering and domains in crystals of Mn12 Ac molecular magnets

Abstract

Dipolar coupling in crystals of the Mn12Ac molecular magnet elongated along the anisotropy axis favors ferromagnetic ordering below the mean-field Curie temperature 0.71 K. With the help of Monte Carlo on crystals of up to one million Mn12 molecules, it is shown that ordering occurs at 0.36 K. The resulting state is split into ferromagnetic domains with domain walls preferring the diagonal orientation. Domain walls are pinned by the lattice at low temperatures. Making the crystal shorter makes domains finer and smoothens out the singularity at the transition, decreasing susceptibility in the domain state. Hysteresis loops look ferromagnetic for prolate crystals and antiferromagnetic for oblate crystals.