The minimal model to describe many spin-chain materials with ferroelectric properties is the Heisenberg model with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor coupling ${J}_{1}$ and antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor coupling ${J}_{2}$. Here we study the thermodynamics of this model using a density-matrix algorithm applied to transfer matrices. We find that the incommensurate spin-spin correlations---crucial for the ferroelectric properties and the analog of the classical spiral pitch angle---depend not only on the ratio ${J}_{2}/|{J}_{1}|$ but also strongly on temperature. We study small easy-plane anisotropies which can stabilize a vector chiral order as well as the finite-temperature signatures of multipolar phases, stable at finite magnetic field. Furthermore, we fit the susceptibilities of ${\text{LiCuVO}}_{4}$, ${\text{LiCu}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{2}$, and ${\text{Li}}_{2}{\text{ZrCuO}}_{4}$. Contrary to the literature, we find that for ${\text{LiCuVO}}_{4}$ the best fit is obtained with ${J}_{2}\ensuremath{\sim}90\text{ }\text{K}$ and ${J}_{2}/|{J}_{1}|\ensuremath{\sim}0.5$ and show that these values are consistent with the observed spin incommensurability. Finally, we discuss our findings concerning the incommensurate spin-spin correlations and multipolar orders in relation to future experiments on these compounds.
The minimal model to describe many spin-chain materials with ferroelectric properties is the Heisenberg model with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor coupling J1 and antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor coupling J2. Here we study the thermodynamics of this model using a density-matrix algorithm applied to transfer matrices. We find that the incommensurate spin-spin correlations---crucial for the ferroelectric properties and the analog of the classical spiral pitch angle---depend not only on the ratio J2/∣J1∣ but also strongly on temperature. We study small easy-plane anisotropies which can stabilize a vector chiral order as well as the finite-temperature signatures of multipolar phases, stable at finite magnetic field. Furthermore, we fit the susceptibilities of LiCuVO4, LiCu2O2, and Li2ZrCuO4. Contrary to the literature, we find that for LiCuVO4 the best fit is obtained with J2\ensuremath∼90K and J2/∣J1∣\ensuremath∼0.5 and show that these values are consistent with the observed spin incommensurability. Finally, we discuss our findings concerning the incommensurate spin-spin correlations and multipolar orders in relation to future experiments on these compounds.
The thermodynamics of coupled frustrated ferromagnetic chains is studied within a spin-rotation-invariant Green's-function approach. We consider an isotropic Heisenberg spin-half system with a ferromagnetic in-chain coupling J1<0 between nearest neighbors and a frustrating antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor in-chain coupling J2>0. We focus on the moderate strength of frustration J2<∣J1∣/4 such that the in-chain spin-spin correlations are predominantly ferromagnetic. We consider two interchain couplings (ICs) ${J}_{\ensuremath{\perp},y}$ and ${J}_{\ensuremath{\perp},z}$, corresponding to the two axes perpendicular to the chain, where ferromagnetic as well as antiferromagnetic ICs are taken into account. We discuss the influence of frustration on the ground-state properties for antiferromagnetic ICs, where the ground state is of a quantum nature. The major part of our study is devoted to the finite-temperature properties. We calculate the critical temperature Tc as a function of the competing exchange couplings ${J}_{2},{J}_{\ensuremath{\perp},y},{J}_{\ensuremath{\perp},z}$. We find that for fixed ICs, Tc decreases monotonically with increasing frustration J2, where as ${J}_{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}|{J}_{1}|/4$ the Tc(J2) curve drops down rapidly. To characterize the magnetic ordering below and above Tc, we calculate the spin-spin correlation functions $\ensuremath{\langle}{\mathbf{S}}_{0}{\mathbf{S}}_{\mathbf{R}}\ensuremath{\rangle}$, the magnetic order parameter M, the uniform static susceptibility ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{0}$, as well as the correlation length $\ensuremath{\xi}$. Moreover, we discuss the specific heat CV and the temperature dependence of the excitation spectrum ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\mathbf{q}}$. As ${J}_{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}|{J}_{1}|/4$, some unusual frustration-induced features were found, such as an increase of the in-chain spin stiffness (in the case of ferromagnetic ICs) or of the in-chain spin-wave velocity (in the case of antiferromagnetic ICs) with growing temperature.
We study the one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with competing ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor J1 and antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor J2 exchange couplings in the presence of magnetic field. We use both numerical approaches (the density-matrix renormalization-group method and exact diagonalization) and effective-field-theory approach and obtain the ground-state phase diagram for wide parameter range of the coupling ratio J1/J2. The phase diagram is rich and has a variety of phases, including the vector chiral phase, the nematic phase, and other multipolar phases. In the vector chiral phase, which appears in relatively weak magnetic field, the ground state exhibits long-range order (LRO) of vector chirality which spontaneously breaks a parity symmetry. The nematic phase shows a quasi-LRO of antiferronematic spin correlation and arises as a result of formation of two-magnon bound states in high magnetic fields. Similarly, the higher multipolar phases, such as triatic (p=3) and quartic (p=4) phases, are formed through binding of p magnons near the saturation fields, showing quasi-LRO of antiferromultipolar spin correlations. The multipolar phases cross over to spin-density-wave phases as the magnetic field is decreased before encountering a phase transition to the vector chiral phase at a lower field. The implications of our results to quasi-one-dimensional frustrated magnets (e.g., LiCuVO4) are discussed.
The magnetic and thermodynamic properties of spin-1∕2 Heisenberg diamond chains are investigated in three different cases: (a) J1, J2, J3>0 (frustrated), (b) J1, J3<0, J2>0 (frustrated), and (c) J1, J2>0, J3<0 (nonfrustrated), where the bond coupling Ji(i=1,2,3)>0 stands for an antiferromagnetic (AF) interaction, and <0 for a ferromagnetic (F) interaction. The density-matrix renormalization-group (DMRG) technique is invoked to study the properties of the system in the ground state, while the transfer-matrix renormalization-group (TMRG) technique is applied to explore the thermodynamic properties. The local magnetic moments, spin-correlation functions, and static structure factors are discussed in the ground state for the three cases. It is shown that the static structure factor S(q) shows peaks at wave vectors $q=a\ensuremath{\pi}∕3$ (a=0,1,2,3,4,5) for different couplings in a zero magnetic field, which, however, in the magnetic fields where the magnetization plateau with m=1∕6 pertains, exhibits the peaks only at q=0, $2\ensuremath{\pi}∕3$, and $4\ensuremath{\pi}∕3$, which are found to be couplings independent. The DMRG results of the zero-field static structure factor can be nicely fitted by a linear superposition of six modes, where two fitting equations are proposed. It is observed that the six modes are closely related to the low-lying excitations of the system. At finite temperatures, the magnetization, susceptibility, and specific heat show various behaviors for different couplings. The double-peak structures of the susceptibility, and specific heat against temperature are obtained, where the peak positions and heights are found to depend on the competition of the couplings. It is also uncovered that the XXZ anisotropy of F and AF couplings leads the system of case (c) to display quite different behaviors. In addition, the experimental data of the susceptibility, specific heat, and magnetization for the compound Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 are fairly compared with our TMRG results.
We study the one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with competing ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor J_1 and antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor J_2 exchange couplings in the presence of magnetic field. We use both numerical approaches (the density matrix renormalization group method and exact diagonalization) and effective field-theory approach, and obtain the ground-state phase diagram for wide parameter range of the coupling ratio J_1/J_2. The phase diagram is rich and has a variety of phases, including the vector chiral phase, the nematic phase, and other multipolar phases. In the vector chiral phase, which appears in relatively weak magnetic field, the ground state exhibits long-range order (LRO) of vector chirality which spontaneously breaks a parity symmetry. The nematic phase shows a quasi-LRO of antiferro-nematic spin correlation, and arises as a result of formation of two-magnon bound states in high magnetic fields. Similarly, the higher multipolar phases, such as triatic (p=3) and quartic (p=4) phases, are formed through binding of p magnons near the saturation fields, showing quasi-LRO of antiferro-multipolar spin correlations. The multipolar phases cross over to spin density wave phases as the magnetic field is decreased, before encountering a phase transition to the vector chiral phase at a lower field. The implications of our results to quasi-one-dimensional frustrated magnets (e.g., LiCuVO_4) are discussed.
Abstract. We studied the thermodynamics of the one-dimensional J1-J2 spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain for ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor bonds J1 < 0 and frustrating antiferromagnetic nextnearest-neighbor bonds J2> 0 using full diagonalization of finite rings and a second-order Green-function formalism. Thereby we focus on J2 < |J1|/4 where the ground state is still ferromagnetic, but the frustration influences the thermodynamic properties. We found that their critical indices are not changed by J2. The analysis of the low-temperature behavior of the susceptibility χ leads to the conclusion that this behavior changes from χ ∝ T −2 at J2 < |J1|/4 to χ ∝ T −3/2 at the quantum-critical point J2 = |J1|/4. Another effect of the frustration is the appearance of an extra low-T maximum in the specific heat Cv(T) for J2 � |J1|/8, indicating its strong influence on the low-energy spectrum. Introduction: In low-dimensional frustrated quantum magnets thermal and quantum fluctuations strongly influence the low-temperature physics [1,2]. Special attention has been paid to one-dimensional (1D) J1-J2 quantum Heisenberg magnets, see Ref. [3] and references therein. Recent experimental studies have shown that edge-shared chain cuprates, such as LiVCuO4, Li(Na)Cu2O2, Li2ZrCuO4, and Li2CuO2 [4–13], represent a family of quantum magnets for
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 J(3) on the ground state of the spin-½ Heisenberg chain with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor interaction J(1) and frustrating antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor interaction J(2). A third-neighbor exchange J(3) might be relevant to describe the magnetic properties of the quasi-one-dimensional edge-shared cuprates, such as LiVCuO(4) or LiCu(2)O(2). In particular, we calculate the critical point J(2)(c) as a function of J(3), where the ferromagnetic ground state gives way for a ground state with incommensurate spiral correlations. For antiferromagnetic J(3) the ferro-spiral transition is always continuous and the critical values J(2)(c) of the classical and the quantum model coincide. On the other hand, for ferromagnetic J3 is < or approximately equal to -(0.01...0.02)|J1|. the critical value J(2)(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.