Image Of Dynamic Local Exchange Interactions In The Dc Magnetoresistance Of Spin-Polarized Current Through A Dopant

We predict strong, dynamical effects in the dc magnetoresistance of current flowing from a spin-polarized electrical contact through a magnetic dopant in a nonmagnetic host. Using the stochastic Lionville formalism we calculate clearly defined resonances in the de magnetoresistance when the applied magnetic field matches the exchange interaction with a nearby spin. At these resonances spin precession in the applied magnetic field is canceled by spin evolution in the exchange field, preserving a dynamic bottleneck for spin transport through the dopant. Similar features emerge when the dopant spin is coupled to nearby nuclei through the hyperfine interaction. These features provide a precise means of measuring exchange or hyperfine couplings between localized spins near a surface using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy, without any ac electric or magnetic fields, even when the exchange or hyperfine energy is orders of magnitude smaller than the thermal energy.