Understanding the spin-relaxation mechanism of single adatoms is an essential step towards creating atomic magnetic memory bits or even qubits. Here we present an essentially parameter-free theory by combining \textit{ab-initio} electronic and vibrational properties with the many-body nature of atomic states. Our calculations account for the millisecond spin lifetime measured recently on Fe adatoms on MgO/Ag(100) and reproduce the dependence on the number of decoupling layers and the external magnetic field. We show how the atomic interaction with the environment should be tuned in order to enhance the magnetic stability, and propose a clear fingerprint for experimentally detecting a localized spin-phonon excitation.
@article{arxiv.2212.09653,
title = {Microscopic theory of spin-relaxation of a single Fe adatom coupled to substrate vibrations},
author = {Haritz Garai-Marin and Manuel dos Santos Dias and Samir Lounis and Julen Ibañez-Azpiroz and Asier Eiguren},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2212.09653},
year = {2023}
}