Resonant quantum coherence of magnetization at excited states in nanospin systems with different crystal symmetries

Abstract

The quantum interference effects induced by the Wess-Zumino term, or Berry phase are studied theoretically in resonant quantum coherence of magnetization vector between degenerate excited states in nanometer-scale single-domain ferromagnets in the absence of an external magnetic field. By applying the periodic instanton method in the spin-coherent-state path integral, we evaluate the low-lying tunnel splittings between degenerate excited states of neighboring wells. And the low-lying energy level spectrum of m-th excited states are obtained with the help of the Bloch theorem in one-dimensional periodic potential.