Spin of single atomic nuclei measured for first time

Researchers have detected the nuclear magnetism, or nuclear spins, of individual atoms on a surface for the first time. This method is promising as a powerful probe of the chemical environment of individual atoms.

Electrons have a quantum property known as spin, which gives rise to the magnetic properties of a material. Some atomic nuclei also have a net spin; it is this property that is used in magnetic resonance imagining (MRI). But while MRI can detect the spin of a large number of nuclei, until now no one had succeeded in detecting the nuclear spin of a single atom.

Now, by combining a scanning tunnelling microscope with measurements of electron spin, researchers at the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea have detected the spins of individual iron and titanium atoms on a magnesium oxide surface.

In the future, nuclear spin could be used to store quantum information.

Science 362, 336–339 (2018). doi: 10.1126/science.aat7047