We solve the spin-1 quantum Ising model with single-ion anisotropy by mapping it onto a series of segmented spin-1/2 transverse Ising chains, separated by the S(z)=0 states called holes. A recursion formula is derived for the partition function to simplify the summation of hole configurations. This allows the thermodynamic quantities of this model to be rigorously determined in the thermodynamic limit. The low temperature behavior is governed by the interplay between the hole excitations and the fermionic excitations within each spin-1/2 Ising segment. The quantum critical fluctuations around the Ising critical point of the transverse Ising model are strongly suppressed by the hole excitations.
Microscopic models of quantum antiferromagnets are investigated on the basis of a mapping onto effective low-energy Hamiltonians. Lattice effects are carefully taken into account and their role is discussed. We show that the presence of an external staggered magnetic field modifies in a nontrivial way the usual mapping onto the nonlinear sigma model, leading to the appearance of terms neglected in previous works. Our analysis is compared with Lanczos diagonalizations of
S=1 Heisenberg chains in a staggered field, confirming the validity of the single-mode approximation for the evaluation of the dynamical structure factor. The results are relevant for the interpretation of experiments in quasi-one-dimensional compounds. Microscopic realizations of SU(4) spin chains are also discussed in the framework of spin-orbital lattice systems. The low-energy physics is shown to be described by sigma models with topological angle $\ensuremath{\theta}$ in one dimension. This mapping strongly suggests that the one-dimensional
CP3 model (with $\ensuremath{\theta}=\ensuremath{\pi})$ undergoes a second-order phase transition as a function of the coupling.