No Arabic abstract
The spin-1/2 chain with isotropic exchange J1, J2 > 0 between first and second neighbors is frustrated for either sign of J1 and has a singlet ground state (GS) for J1/J2 $ge - 4$. Its rich quantum phase diagram supports gapless, gapped, commensurate (C), incommensurate (IC) and other phases. Critical points J1/J2 are evaluated using exact diagonalization (ED) and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations. The wave vector $q_G$ of spin correlations is related to GS degeneracy and obtained as the peak of the spin structure factor $S(q)$. Variable $q_G$ indicates IC phases in two $J1/J2$ intervals, [ -4, -1.24] and [0.44, 2], and a C-IC point at J1/J2 = 2. The decoupled C phase in [-1.24, 0.44] has constant $q_G = {pi}/2$, nondegenerate GS, and a lowest triplet state with broken spin density on sublattices of odd and even numbered sites. The lowest triplet and singlet excitations, $E_m$ and $E_{sigma}$, are degenerate in finite systems at specific frustration $J1/J2$. Level crossing extrapolates in the thermodynamic limit to the same critical points as $q_G$. The $S(q)$ peak diverges at $q_G = {pi}$ in the gapless phase with $J1/J2 > 4.148$ and quasi-long-range order (QLRO({$pi$})). $S(q)$ diverges at $pm {pi}/2$ in the decoupled phase with QLRO({$pi$}/2), but is finite in gapped phases with finite range correlations. Numerical results and field theory agree at small $J2/J1$ but disagree for the decoupled phase with weak exchange $J1$ between sublattices. Two related models are summarized: one has an exact gapless decoupled phase with QLRO({$pi$}/2) and no IC phases; the other has a single IC phase without a decoupled phase in between.
The spin-1/2 chain with isotropic Heisenberg exchange $J_1$, $J_2 > 0$ between first and second neighbors is frustrated for either sign of J1. Its quantum phase diagram has critical points at fixed $J_1/J_2$ between gapless phases with nondegenerate ground state (GS) and quasi-long-range order (QLRO) and gapped phases with doubly degenerate GS and spin correlation functions of finite range. In finite chains, exact diagonalization (ED) estimates critical points as level crossing of excited states. GS spin correlations enter in the spin structure factor $S(q)$ that diverges at wave vector $q_m$ in QLRO($q_m$) phases with periodicity $2pi/q_m$ but remains finite in gapped phases. $S(q_m)$ is evaluated using ED and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations. Level crossing and the magnitude of $S(q_m)$ are independent and complementary probes of quantum phases, based respectively on excited and ground states. Both indicate a gapless QLRO($pi/2$) phase between $-1.2 < J_1/|J_2| < 0.45$. Numerical results and field theory agree well for quantum critical points at small frustration $J_2$ but disagree in the sector of weak exchange $J_1$ between Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains on sublattices of odd and even-numbered sites.
The magnetic susceptibility $chi(T)$ of spin-1/2 chains is widely used to quantify exchange interactions, even though $chi(T)$ is similar for different combinations of ferromagnetic $J_1$ between first neighbors and antiferromagnetic $J_2$ between second neighbors. We point out that the spin specific heat $C(T)$ directly determines the ratio $alpha = J_2/|J_1|$ of competing interactions. The $J_1-J_2$ model is used to fit the isothermal magnetization $M(T,H)$ and $C(T,H)$ of spin-1/2 Cu(II) chains in LiCuSbO$_4$. By fixing $alpha$, $C(T)$ resolves the offsetting $J_1$, $alpha$ combinations obtained from $M(T,H)$ in cuprates with frustrated spin chains.
We use the coupled cluster method for infinite chains complemented by exact diagonalization of finite periodic chains to discuss the influence of a third-neighbor exchange J3 on the ground state of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor interaction J1 and frustrating antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor interaction J2. A third-neighbor exchange J3 might be relevant to describe the magnetic properties of the quasi-one-dimensional edge-shared cuprates, such as LiVCuO4 or LiCu2O2. In particular, we calculate the critical point J2^c as a function of J3, where the ferromagnetic ground state gives way for a ground state with incommensurate spiral correlations. For antiferromagnetic J3 the ferro-spiral transition is always continuous and the critical values J2^c of the classical and the quantum model coincide. On the other hand, for ferromagnetic J3 lesssim -(0.01...0.02)|J1| the critical value J2^c of the quantum model is smaller than that of the classical model. Moreover, the transition becomes discontinuous, i.e. the model exhibits a quantum tricritical point. We also calculate the height of the jump of the spiral pitch angle at the discontinuous ferro-spiral transition.
We study the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on the square lattice with first- and second-neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions J1 and J2, which possesses a nonmagnetic region that has been debated for many years and might realize the interesting Z2 spin liquid. We use the density matrix renormalization group approach with explicit implementation of SU(2) spin rotation symmetry and study the model accurately on open cylinders with different boundary conditions. With increasing J2, we find a Neel phase, a plaquette valence-bond (PVB) phase with a finite spin gap, and a possible spin liquid in a small region of J2 between these two phases. From the finite-size scaling of the magnetic order parameter, we estimate that the Neel order vanishes at J2/J1~0.44. For 0.5<J2/J1<0.61, we find dimer correlations and PVB textures whose decay lengths grow strongly with increasing system width, consistent with a long-range PVB order in the two-dimensional limit. The dimer-dimer correlations reveal the s-wave character of the PVB order. For 0.44<J2/J1<0.5, spin order, dimer order, and spin gap are small on finite-size systems and appear to scale to zero with increasing system width, which is consistent with a possible gapless SL or a near-critical behavior. We compare and contrast our results with earlier numerical studies.
The static structure factor S(q) of frustrated spin-1/2 chains with isotropic exchange and a singlet ground state (GS) diverges at wave vector q_m when the GS has quasi-long-range order (QLRO) with periodicity 2pi/q_m but S(q_m) is finite in bond-order-wave (BOW) phases with finite-range spin correlations. Exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations of S(q) indicate a decoupled phase with QLRO and q_m = pi/2 in chains with large antiferromagnetic exchange between second neighbors. S(q_m) identifies quantum phase transitions based on GS spin correlations.