Theory for transport through a single magnetic molecule: Endohedral N@C60

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework to analyze electron transport through a single N@C60 molecule, revealing Coulomb blockade effects and spin-related fine structures in conductance.

Contribution

It introduces a density-matrix formalism to derive rate equations for the molecule's states, providing new insights into spin interactions and transport phenomena.

Findings

Coulomb-blockade behavior observed in conductance.

Fine structure of peaks due to exchange coupling.

Theoretical predictions align with experimental features.

Abstract

We consider transport through a single N@C60 molecule, weakly coupled to metallic leads. Employing a density-matrix formalism we derive rate equations for the occupation probabilities of many-particle states of the molecule. We calculate the current-voltage characteristics and the differential conductance for N@C60 in a break junction. Our results reveal Coulomb-blockade behavior as well as a fine structure of the Coulomb-blockade peaks due to the exchange coupling of the C60 spin to the spin of the encapsulated nitrogen atom.