Diamagnetism of metallic nanoparticles as the result of strong spin-orbit interaction

Abstract

The magnetic susceptibility of an ensemble of clean metallic nanoparticles is shown to change from paramagnetic to diamagnetic one with the onset of spin-orbit interaction. The effect is quantified on the basis of symmetry analysis with the help of the random matrix theory. In particular, the magnetic susceptibility is investigated as the function of symmetry breaking parameter representing magnetic flux in the crossover from symplectic to unitary and from orthogonal to unitary ensembles. Corresponding analytical and numerical results provide a qualitative explanation to the experimental data on diamagnetism of an ensemble of gold nanorods.