Non-monotonic temperature dependence and first-order phase transition of relaxation times in molecular spin

TL;DR

This paper models the relaxation times of molecular spins across all temperatures, revealing a first-order phase transition and non-monotonic temperature dependence, which challenge traditional beliefs and suggest new observable behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a simple system of equations capturing the entire temperature range, demonstrating a first-order phase transition and non-monotonic relaxation rates in molecular spin relaxation.

Findings

Discovery of a first-order phase transition in relaxation modes.

Identification of non-monotonic temperature dependence of relaxation rates.

Proposal of an experiment to observe these phenomena.

Abstract

We derive a simple system of equations to describe the magnetization relaxation of a molecular spin in weak interaction with a thermal bath for the whole temperature domain. Using this for the intermediate temperature domain where the transition from coherent to incoherent relaxation occurs, we find that the slowest relaxation mode shows a first-order phase transition. Associated with this transition, an unusual non-monotonic temperature-dependence of the relaxation rate of this mode is also demonstrated. Contrary to the popular belief, this non-monotony gives rise to a peculiar but observable behavior where increasing temperature will not only result in a smaller rate of the slowest relaxation mode but also may lead to a slower decaying of the magnetization after some relaxing time. Additionally, it is also shown that magnetization relaxation in this intermediate temperature domain can only be accurately described by a bi- or tri-exponential form. The physical reason underlying these features can be attributed to the role of the quantum tunneling effect and different but comparative relaxation modes. A simple experiment to confirm our findings on the first-order phase transition and the non-monotony of the relaxation rate is accordingly proposed.