Abstract
Spin Hamiltonian for the paramagnetic center with a three-fold symmetry and high spin ($S{\geq}2$) multiplicity should contain the fourth order zero-field splitting (ZFS) terms. Electron magnetic resonance transition lines of the center with S = 5/2 are expected to split in a pair when the magnetic field is applied off the principal axes of ZFS, while they are superimposed when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the principal axes of ZFS. In this study we report that the transition lines of $Mn^{2+}$ centers at the three-fold symmetric sites in $LiNbO_3$, chemically equivalent but physically different, split in two due to the nonzero fourth order ZFS term.