Study of the Magnetic Structure of Free Clusters

先前的研究表明，由2到500个原子组成的原子团簇可以比整体物质更具磁性，并且由于热波动、大的表面体积比和有限尺寸效应而表现出全新的磁性现象。该项目将把对钴和钆团簇的测量扩展到更广泛的其他金属、合金和金属化合物团簇。这些研究将作为温度、磁场、簇大小和组成的函数进行。最终目标是合成具有磁性的团簇，这些团簇将在诸如磁记录、电子和光学等应用中发挥作用。

Previous studies have shown that atomic clusters of between 2 and 500 atoms can be more magnetic than the bulk matter and exhibit entirely new magnetic phenomena as the result of thermal fluctuactions, a large surface-to-volume ratio and finite-size effects. This project will extend the measurements made on cobalt and gadolinium clusters to a broad range of other metal, alloy and metal compound clusters. The studies will be made as functions of temperature, magnetic field, and cluster size and composition. The ultimate goal is to synthesize clusters whose magnetic properties will be useful in applications such as magnetic recording, electronics and optics.