To begin with, we introduce several exact models for SU(3) spin chains: First is a translationally invariant parent Hamiltonian involving four-site interactions for the trimer chain, with a threefold degenerate ground state. We provide numerical evidence that the elementary excitations of this model transform under representation
3 of SU(3) if the original spins of the model transform under representation 3. Second is a family of parent Hamiltonians for valence bond solids of SU(3) chains with spin representations 6, 10, and 8 on each lattice site. We argue that of these three models, only the latter two exhibit spinon confinement and, hence, a Haldane gap in the excitation spectrum. We generalize some of our models to
SU(n). Finally, we use the emerging rules for the construction of valence bond solid states to argue that models of antiferromagnetic chains of
SU(n) spins, in general, possess a Haldane gap if the spins transform under a representation corresponding to a Young tableau consisting of a number of boxes $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ which is divisible by
n. If $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and
n have no common divisor, the spin chain will support deconfined spinons and not exhibit a Haldane gap. If $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and
n have a common divisor different from
n, it will depend on the specifics of the model including the range of the interaction.
We introduce several exact models for SU(3) spin chains: (1) a translationally invariant parent Hamiltonian involving four-site interactions for the trimer chain, with a threefold degenerate ground state. We provide numerical evidence that the elementary excitations of this model transform under representation
3 of SU(3) if the original spins of the model transform under representation 3. (2) a family of parent Hamiltonians for valence bond solids of SU(3) chains with spin representations 6, 10, and 8 on each lattice site. We argue that of these three models, only the latter two exhibit spinon confinement, and a Haldane gap in the excitation spectrum.
Motivated by the rich phase diagrams recently unveiled in frustrated spin-1 chains with competing next-nearest-neighbor and four-spin interactions, we investigate the nature of the elementary excitations of spin-1 chains in the vicinity of phase transitions using the matrix-product state (MPS) representation of elementary excitations. First, we show that both spinons and magnons naturally arise in
SU(2) invariant spin chains when describing ground states and elementary excitations using MPSs. Then we investigate the nature of the elementary excitations across the first-order transition between the Haldane phase and the topologically trivial next-nearest-neighbor Haldane phase. We show explicitly that spinons deconfine at the transition, and we calculate the dispersion of these deconfined spinons with MPSs. We also show that, immediately away from the transition line, spinons confine, forming dispersive spinon/antispinon bound states on both sides of the transition. Finally, we show that deconfined spinons also appear at the transition between the Haldane phase and the spontaneously dimerized phase when this transition is first order.
We have investigated Haldane's conjecture for the S = 2 antiferromagnetic quantum spin chain with nearest-neighbour exchange J . Using a density matrix renormalization group algorithm for chains up to L = 350 spins, we show that the ground state has hidden topological order: the physics of the S = 2 chain can be captured by a valence bond solid description. We also observe effective free spin-1 states at the ends of an open S = 2 chain. We find in the thermodynamic limit a gap Δ = 0.085(5) J and a spin correlation length ξ = 49(1) lattice spacings in the isotropic case. We give the phase diagram in the presence of single-ion and exchange anisotropy, showing how the Haldane phase is squeezed out when the spin S increases.
Observing constituent particles with fractional quantum numbers in confined and deconfined states is an interesting and challenging problem in quantum many-body physics. Here, we further explore a computational scheme [Y. Tang and A. W. Sandvik, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 157201 (2011)] based on valence-bond quantum Monte Carlo simulations of quantum spin systems. Using several different one-dimensional models, we characterize
S=21 spinon excitations using the intrinsic spinon size $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and confinement length $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ (the size of a bound state). The spinons have finite size in valence-bond-solid states, infinite size in the critical region (with overlaps characterized by power laws), and become ill defined (completely unlocalizable) in the N\'eel state (which we stabilize in one dimension by introducing long-range interactions). We also verify that pairs of spinons are deconfined in uniform spin chains but become confined upon introducing a pattern of alternating coupling strengths (dimerization) or coupling two chains (forming a ladder). In the dimerized system, an individual spinon can be small when the confinement length is large; this is the case when the imposed dimerization is weak but the ground state of the corresponding uniform chain is a spontaneously formed valence-bond solid (where the spinons are deconfined). Based on our numerical results, we argue that a system with $\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\ll}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ is associated with weak repulsive short-range spinon-spinon interactions. In principle, both the length scales $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ can still be individually tuned from small to infinite (with $\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\le}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$) by varying model parameters. In contrast, in the ladder system the two lengths are always similar, and this is the case also in the weakly dimerized systems when the corresponding uniform chain is in the critical phase. In these systems, the effective spinon-spinon interactions are purely attractive and there is only a single large length scale close to criticality, which is reflected in the standard spin correlations as well as in the spinon characteristics.
An interaction-round-a-face density-matrix renormalization-group (IRF-DMRG) method is developed for higher integer spin chain models which are rotational invariant. The expressions of the IRF weights associated with the nearest-neighbor spin-S interaction
Si⋅Si+1 are derived explicitly. Using the IRF-DMRG with these IRF weights, the Haldane gaps
Δ and the ground state energy densities
e0 for both S=1 and S=2 isotropic antiferromagnetic Heisenberg quantum spin chains are calculated by keeping up to only m=90 states.