  Theory of magnetic deflagration (avalanches) in crystals of molecular magnets
has been developed. The phenomenon resembles the burning of a chemical
substance, with the Zeeman energy playing the role of the chemical energy.
Non-destructive reversible character of magnetic deflagration, as well as the
possibility to continuously tune the flammability of the crystal by changing
the magnetic field, makes molecular magnets an attractive toy system for a
detailed study of the burning process. Besides simplicity, new features, as
compared to the chemical burning, include possibility of quantum decay of
metastable spin states and strong temperature dependence of the heat capacity
and thermal conductivity. We obtain analytical and numerical solutions for
criteria of the ignition of magnetic deflagration, and compute the ignition
rate and the speed of the developed deflagration front.
