The effect of the spin-phonon coupling on the spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain is investigated. Using the framework of the modified spin-wave theory, we show that the gap is increased when the coupling between spins and phonons is considered.
Spin–phonon interaction effects in a spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain coupled to phonons are investigated in systems with variable crystal structures. By performing a unitary transformation to a Hamiltonian of the system, we derive effective Hamiltonians expanded in powers of spin–phonon and spin–spin couplings. Ground-state phase transitions between a spin-liquid phase and a spin-gapped phase are investigated by a level spectroscopy analysis of numerical diagonalization data of effective systems. Our results depend on whether the ground state of the Heisenberg chain is in the spin-liquid phase or the spin-gapped phase. In the system where the ground state is in the spin-liquid phase, the spin–phonon interaction causes the usual phase transition to the spin-gapped phase. On the other hand, in the system where the ground state is in the spin-gapped phase, the spin–phonon interaction causes the novel phase transition to the spin-liquid phase for some geometrical structures. The phase transition from the spin-gapped phase to the spin-liquid phase is observed by changing a parameter to control the change in a geometrical structure.
The properties of the spin-1/2 double chain Heisenberg antiferromagnet are studied by means of the numerical diagonalization and the projector Monte Carlo simulation. The model consists of the two spin 1/2 antiferromagnetic quantum Heisenberg chains coupled with each other via the ferromagnetic interchain coupling J ′ . It is shown that the first excited state has a gap for large enough J ′ . This gap continues to the Haldane gap in the limit J ′ →∞, where spins on the different chains form triplets on each site. On the other hand, the gap decreases rapidly between J ′ =1.0 and 0.6 and is undetectable for J ′ <0.6 within the present accuracy.
The double chain Heisenberg antiferromagnet with anisotropy is studied using the mapping onto the coupled anisotropic nonlinear σ model. This model consists of two anisotropic antiferromagnetic quantum Heisenberg chains with half-integer spin coupled with each other via the ferromagnetic interchain coupling J '. For small J ', our analysis suggests that J ' is an irrelevant parameter and consequently the two chains behave independently and no gap is generated. On the other hand, for large enough J ', the two chains behave as a single Heisenberg chain with integer spin which has a gap in the excitation spectrum. The expected behavior in the isotropic limit is also discussed.
The ground-state properties of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain, which has two exchange couplings (J>J') alternatingly, are studied. This model interpolates the spin-1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain (AFHC) (J'\ensuremath{\rightarrow}-\ensuremath{\infty}, J>0), the dimerized spin-1/2 AFHC (J'\ensuremath{\simeq}J>0), and the uniform spin-1/2 AFHC (J'=J>0) continuously. The string order introduced by den Nijs--Rommelse and Tasaki changes continuously through the Haldane phase and the dimer phase to vanish at J=J'. It is at a maximum for J'=0. This implies that the string order is related to the local singlet correlation in terms of the spin-1/2 model. The lowest excitation can be regarded as the renormalized triplet wave. The reversal of the anisotropy effect on the excitation spectrum of the spin-1 AFHC is also explained in a intuitive way based on this picture.
We investigate a one-dimensional S=1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model coupled to a lattice distortion by a quantum Monte Carlo method. Investigating the ground-state energy of the static bond-alternating chain, we find that the instability to a dimerized chain depends on the value of the spin-phonon coupling, unlike the case of S=21. The spin state is the dimer state or the uniform Haldane state depending on whether the lattice distorts or not, respectively. At an intermediate value of the spin-phonon coupling, we find the first-order transition between the two states. We also find the coexistence of the two states.
The antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain with integer spin has a short-range magnetic order and an excitation energy gap above the ground state. This so-called Haldane gap is proportional to the exchange coupling constant J of the Heisenberg chain. In this study, we discuss recent results about the spin dependence of the Haldane gap and conjecture an analytical formula valid asymptotically for large spin values. We then discuss the robustness of the edge states of the spin-1 chain by studying a spin-1 ladder using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm. We show that the peculiar hidden topological order of the spin-1 chain disappears smoothly by increasing the ladder rung coupling without any intervening phase transition. This is evidence for the fragile character of the topological order of the spin-1 chain.