CALCULATION OF SPIN TUNNELING EFFECTS IN THE PRESENCE OF AN APPLIED MAGNETIC-FIELD

The tunneling splitting of the energy levels of a ferromagnetic partic le in the presence of an applied magnetic field - previously derived o nly for the ground state with the path integral method - is obtained i n a simple way from Schrodinger theory. The origin of the factors ente ring the result is clearly understood, in particular the effect of the asymmetry of the barriers of the potential. The method should appeal particularly to experimentalists searching for evidence of macroscopic spin tunneling. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.