Quantum transport through a multilevel magnetic structure with multiple inelastic scattering in a magnetic field taken into account

We present a solution for the problem of quantum electron transport through a magnetic atom adsorbed inside a break junction with paramagnetic metal electrodes. In agreement with experimental data, it was assumed that the conduction electrons experience inelastic scattering by the adsorbate due to s-d(f)-exchange interaction. The Keldysh technique was employed to obtain a general expression describing a current through the multilevel structure at finite temperatures in terms of the nonequilibrium Green's function. The use of the atomic representation allowed to exactly account for the non-equidistant structure of the energy spectrum of a magnetic atom and to simplify substantially the application of the Wick theorem for construction of the nonequilibrium diagrammatic technique for the Hubbard operators. The calculation of the current-voltage characteristics of the magnetic adatom in the tunnel regime at low temperatures revealed the presence of regions with a negative differential conductance in a magnetic field. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.