In this thesis we investigate the thermodynamic and dynamic properties of the D-dimensional quantum Heisenberg ferromagnet within the spin functional renormalization group (FRG); a formalism describing the evolution of the system’s observables as the magnetic exchange inter-action is artificially deformed. Following an introduction providing a self contained summary of the conceptual and mathematical background, we present the spin FRG as developed by Krieg and Kopietz in references [1] and [2] in chapter two. Thereto, the generating functional of the imaginary time-spin correlation functions and its exact flow equation describing the deformation process of the exchange interaction are introduced. In addition, it is highlighted that - in contrast to conventional field-theoretic FRG approaches - the related Legendre trans-formed functional cannot be defined if the exchange interaction is initially switched off. Next, we show that this limitation can be circumvented within an alternativ hybrid approach, which treats transverse and longitudinal spin fluctuations differently. The relevant functionals are introduced and the relations of the corresponding functional Taylor coefficients with the spin correlation functions are discussed. Lastly, the associated flow equations are derived and the possibility of explicit or spontaneous symmetry breaking is taken into account. In chapter three, we benchmark the hybrid formalism against a calculation of the thermo-dynamic properties of the one and two-dimensional Heisenberg model at low temperatures T and finite magnetic field H. For this purpose, we devise an anisotropic deformation scheme of the exchange interaction which allows for a controlled truncation of the infinite hierarchy of FRG flow equations. Thereby, contact with mean-field and spin-wave theory is made and the violation of the Mermin-Wagner theorem is discussed. To fulfill the latter, the truncation scheme is then complemented by a Ward identity relating the transverse self-energy and the magnetization. The resulting magnetization M (H, T ) and isothermal susceptibility χ(H, T ) are in quantitative agreement with the literature and the established behavior of the transverse correlation length and the zero-field susceptibility close to the critical point is qualitatively reproduced in the limit H → 0. Finally, we investigate the longitudinal dynamics at low temperatures. To this end, the hierarchy of flow equations is solved within the same anisotropic deformation scheme complemented by an expansion in the inverse interaction range, and the resulting longitudinal dynamic structure factor is calculated within a low-momentum expansion. In D = 3, the large phase space accessible for the decay into transverse magnons yields only a broad hump centered at zero frequency whose width scales linearly in momentum. In contrast, at low temperatures and in a certain range of magnetic fields, a well-defined quasiparticle peak with linear dispersion emerges in D ≤ 2, which we identify as zero-magnon sound. Sound velocity and damping are discussed as a function of temperature and magnetic field, and the relevant momentum-frequency window is estimated and compared to the hydrodynamic second-magnon regime.
The structure of the space-time-dependent spin-correlation functions for an anisotropic Heisenberg paramagnet with cylindrical symmetry at elevated temperature is analyzed in terms of a two-parameter Gaussian representation representation of the generalized diffusivity. The parameters are chosen so as to exactly preserve the frequency moments, i.e., ${{〈{\ensuremath{\omega}}^{2n}〉}_{\mathrm{K}}}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ ($\ensuremath{\alpha}=z, x, or y$;
n=0,1,2) of the longitudinal and the transverse spectral functions. These moments are calculated for arbitrary spin
S, arbitrary range of the exchange interactions, and arbitrary dimensionality. The results for the correlation functions are worked out for one, two, and three dimensions. In the extreme transverse limit, the results are compared with the exactly soluble
XY model for a one-dimensional spin-\textonehalf{} system with only nearest-neighbor (transverse) exchange. The agreement of the results is found to be satisfactory.
Using the algebro-geometric approach, we study the structure of semi-classical eigenstates in a weakly-anisotropic quantum Heisenberg spin chain. We outline how classical nonlinear spin waves governed by the anisotropic Landau--Lifshitz equation arise as coherent macroscopic low-energy fluctuations of the ferromagnetic ground state. Special emphasis is devoted to the simplest types of solutions, describing precessional motion and elliptic magnetisation waves. The internal magnon structure of classical spin waves is resolved by performing the semi-classical quantisation using the Riemann--Hilbert problem approach. We present an expression for the overlap of two semi-classical eigenstates and discuss how correlation functions at the semi-classical level arise from classical phase-space averaging.