Quantum Detection using Magnetic Avalanches in Single-Molecule Magnets

Hao Chen; Rupak Mahapatra; Glenn Agnolet; Michael Nippe; Minjie Lu; Philip C. Bunting; Tom Melia; Surjeet Rajendran; Giorgio Gratta; Jeffrey Long

arXiv · 2002.09409

Quantum Detection using Magnetic Avalanches in Single-Molecule Magnets

Hao Chen·Rupak Mahapatra·Glenn Agnolet·Michael Nippe·Minjie Lu·Philip C. Bunting·Tom Melia·Surjeet Rajendran·Giorgio Gratta·Jeffrey Long

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Abstract

The detection of a single quantum of energy with high efficiency and low false positive rate is of considerable scientific interest, from serving as single quantum sensors of optical and infra-red photons to enabling the direct detection of low-mass dark matter. We report the first experimental demonstration of magnetic avalanches induced by scattering of quanta in single-molecule magnet (SMM) crystals made of Mn12-acetate, establishing the use of SMMs as particle detectors for the first time. While the current setup has an energy threshold in the MeV regime, our results motivate the exploration of a wide variety of SMMs whose properties could allow for detection of sub-eV energy depositions.

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Hao Chen, Rupak Mahapatra, Glenn Agnolet, Michael Nippe, Minjie Lu, Philip C. Bunting, Tom Melia, Surjeet Rajendran, Giorgio Gratta, Jeffrey Long. 2020-02-21. Quantum Detection using Magnetic Avalanches in Single-Molecule Magnets. https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.09409

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