Abstract: Stochastic resonance, where noise synchronizes a system’s response to an external drive, is a phenomenon that occurs in a wide variety of noisy systems ranging from the dynamics of neurons to the periodicity of ice ages. In this webinar Susan Coppersmith will present theory and experiments on a quantum system that exhibits stochastic resonance — the quantum tunneling of the magnetization of a single Fe atom measured using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Stochastic resonance is shown deep in the quantum regime, where fluctuations are driven by tunneling of the magnetization, as well as in a semi-classical crossover region where thermal excitations set in. Combining theory and experiment enables one to probe the dynamics on time scales shorter than can be resolved experimentally.

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