Quantum phenomena in magnetic nano clusters

One of the fascinating fields of study in magnetism in recent years has bee n the study of quantum phenomena in nanosystems. While semiconductor struct ures have provided paradigms of nanosystems from the stand point of electro nic phenomena the synthesis of high nuclearity transition metal complexes h ave provided examples of nano magnets. The range and diversity of the prope rties exhibited by these systems rivals its electronic counterparts. Qualit ative understanding of these phenomena requires only a knowledge of basic p hysics, but quantitative study throws up many challenges that are similar t o those encountered in the study of correlated electronic systems. In this article, a brief overview of the current trends in this area arc highlighte d and some of the efforts of our group in developing a quantitative underst anding of this field are outlined.