A synergistic approach that combines first-principles theory and electron p
hotodetachment experiment is shown to be able to uniquely identify the grou
nd state of a nearly degenerate cluster in the gas phase. Additionally, thi
s approach can complement the Stern-Gerlach technique in determining the ma
gnetic moment of small clusters unambiguously. The method, applied to a Fe-
3 cluster, reveals its ground state to have a magnetic moment of 10 mu(B)-i
n contrast with earlier predictions.