Mixing of magnetic states in a Cr-8 molecular ring

Effects of mixing of magnetic states in a molecular Cr-8 ring were investigated by torque magnetometry and heat capacity measurements. Results are interpreted within the framework of the spin Hamiltonian approach allowing us to fit the pattern of energy levels derived by neutron spectroscopy. The torque signal gives evidence of mixing of states with the same parity while the Schottky anomaly vanishes at B-c1=6.9 T and B-c2=14.0 T, the fields at which the S=\0,0> state crosses S=\1,-1> and S=\1,-1> crosses S=\2,-2>, respectively, showing no repulsion between states with different parity, in contrast to what was observed on ferric wheels.