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Distinction of Nuclear Spin States with the Scanning Tunneling Microscope

Fabian Donat Natterer, François Patthey, and Harald Brune
Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 175303 – Published 24 October 2013
Physics logo See Synopsis: Molecular Rotations Now Seen on Surfaces
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Abstract

We demonstrate rotational excitation spectroscopy with the scanning tunneling microscope for physisorbed H2 and its isotopes HD and D2. The observed excitation energies are very close to the gas phase values and show the expected scaling with the moment of inertia. Since these energies are characteristic for the molecular nuclear spin states we are able to identify the para and ortho species of hydrogen and deuterium, respectively. We thereby demonstrate nuclear spin sensitivity with unprecedented spatial resolution.

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  • Received 26 July 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.175303

© 2013 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Molecular Rotations Now Seen on Surfaces

Published 24 October 2013

Scanning tunneling microscopy peels back the curtain on the rotational energy levels of adsorbed molecules.

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Authors & Affiliations

Fabian Donat Natterer*, François Patthey, and Harald Brune

  • Institute of Condensed Matter Physics (ICMP), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

  • *Present address: Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA.
  • To whom correspondence should be addressed. harald.brune@epfl.ch

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Issue

Vol. 111, Iss. 17 — 25 October 2013

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