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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 95 » Issue 14
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 147201 (2005) [4 pages]

Propagation of Avalanches in Mn12-Acetate: Magnetic Deflagration

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Yoko Suzuki1, M. P. Sarachik1, E. M. Chudnovsky2, S. McHugh1, R. Gonzalez-Rubio1, Nurit Avraham3, Y. Myasoedov3, E. Zeldov3, H. Shtrikman3, N. E. Chakov4, and G. Christou4
1Department of Physics, City College of New York, CUNY, New York, New York 10031, USA
2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lehman College, CUNY, Bronx, New York 10468-1589, USA
3Department of Condensed Matter Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
4Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA

Received 21 June 2005; published 30 September 2005

Local time-resolved measurements of fast reversal of the magnetization of single crystals of Mn12-acetate indicate that the magnetization avalanche spreads as a narrow interface that propagates through the crystal at a constant velocity that is roughly 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the speed of sound. We argue that this phenomenon is closely analogous to the propagation of a flame front (deflagration) through a flammable chemical substance.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.147201
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.147201
PACS:
75.50.Xx, 75.60.Jk, 82.33.Vx
 
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