Studies of decoherence in strongly anisotropic spin triangles with toroidal or general noncollinear easy axes

Magnetic molecules are investigated with respect to their usability as units in future quantum devices. In view of quantum computing, a necessary prerequisite is a long coherence time of superpositions of low-lying levels. In this article, we investigate by means of numerical simulations whether a toroidal structure of single-ion easy anisotropy axes is advantageous as often conjectured. Our results demonstrate that there is no general advantage of toroidal magnetic molecules, but that arrangements of tilted anisotropy axes perform best in many cases.

Automated summary

This article investigates the usability of magnetic molecules as units in future quantum devices. The authors focus on the coherence time of superpositions of low-lying levels, an important prerequisite for quantum computing. Numerical simulations demonstrate that while toroidal magnetic molecules are often conjectured to have advantages, arrangements of tilted anisotropy axes perform best in many cases.