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Physical Review B

Finite quantum Heisenberg spin models and their approach to the classical limit

Larry Engelhardt, Marshall Luban, Christian Schröder

Published Aug 11, 2006• 21 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We determine the temperature range over which classical Heisenberg spin models closely reproduce the zero-field susceptibility of the corresponding quantum Heisenberg models for a finite number $N$ of interacting quantum spins $s$. Using mostly quantum and classical Monte Carlo methods, as well as analytical methods where applicable, we have explored a variety of geometries, including polygons, open chains, and all Platonic and several Archimedean polytopes. These systems range in size from $N=2$ to 120, and we have considered values of $s$ from $1∕2$ to 50 for both antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic exchange. Particular attention is devoted to quantifying the slow convergence of the large $s$ quantum data to the limiting classical data. This is motivated by the desire to define conditions where classical Monte Carlo methods can provide useful predictions for finite quantum Heisenberg spin systems.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.74.054413

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We determine the temperature range over which classical Heisenberg spin models closely reproduce the zero-field susceptibility of the corresponding quantum Heisenberg models for a finite number NNN of interacting quantum spins sss. Using mostly quantum and classical Monte Carlo methods, as well as analytical methods where applicable, we have explored a variety of geometries, including polygons, open chains, and all Platonic and several Archimedean polytopes. These systems range in size from N=2N=2N=2 to 120, and we have considered values of sss from 1∕21∕21∕2 to 50 for both antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic exchange. Particular attention is devoted to quantifying the slow convergence of the large sss quantum data to the limiting classical data. This is motivated by the desire to define conditions where classical Monte Carlo methods can provide useful predictions for finite quantum Heisenberg spin systems.
A quantum Monte Carlo simulation scheme for spin systems is presented. The method is a generalization of Handscomb's method but applicable to any length of the spin, i.e., when the spin traces cannot be evaluated analytically. The Monte Carlo sampling is extended to the space of spin vectors in addition to the usual operator-index sequences. An important technical point is that the index sequences are augmented with the aid of unit operators to a constant, self-consistently determined length. The scheme is applied to the one-dimensional antiferromagnetic spin-S Heisenberg model. Results at low temperatures are reported for S=1 and S=3/2 and system sizes up to N=64. The computed magnetic structure factor in the S=1 chain is in agreement with earlier ground-state calculations. For S=3/2 we find the exponent \ensuremath{\gamma}\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}=0.49\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.04 for the divergence of the antiferromagnetic structure factor. Further, the susceptibility as a function of the wave number is computed. For S=1 the staggered susceptibility \ensuremath{\chi}(\ensuremath{\pi}) at T=0 is found to take the value 20.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.5 in units such that \ensuremath{\chi}(q)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}${\mathit{T}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ at high temperatures (with the temperature scale defined by kB{\mathit{k}}_{\mathit{B}}kB​=1). For S=3/2 we obtain the exponent \ensuremath{\gamma}=1.45\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05 for the divergence of the staggered susceptibility.
The low-temperature behavior of quantum Heisenberg models can be obtained by combining a renormalization-group analysis of the quantum models with a Monte Carlo simulation of the corresponding classical model, where the ``spins'' are represented by unit vectors defined on a lattice. In this approach renormalization-group equations for the quantum models lead to an effective classical O(3) nonlinear \ensuremath{\sigma} model in appropriate regimes of the parameter space. In the present work we apply this technique, which was recently used by Chakravarty, Halperin, and Nelson to discuss the low-temperature behavior of quantum antiferromagnets, to ferromagnets and calculate the correlation length and the susceptibility of a two-dimensional quantum ferromagnet at low temperatures. The results obtained with this method are then compared with those obtained from a direct simulation of the spin S=1/2 quantum ferromagnet. Excellent agreement between the two approaches leads us to believe that the analytic expressions obtained in the renormalization-group method are accurate at low temperatures. This strengthens the validity of the procedure adopted for antiferromagnets as well, where no such simulation results are yet known. The present paper also further substantiates recent work on the properties of solid 3He^{3}\mathrm{He}3He in two dimensions.
The Suzuki-Trotter transformation has been used to transform NNN-spin S=12S=\frac{1}{2}S=21​ Heisenberg and XY\mathrm{XY}XY chains into two-dimensional ($N\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2m$) classical Ising models with complicated interactions. A Monte Carlo method using multispin flipping techniques is then used to study these models for $\frac{\mathrm{kT}}{|J|}\ensuremath{\ge}0.0125$ and $m\ensuremath{\le}10$. Finite-size scaling is used to analyze the low-temperature susceptibility of the ferromagnetic Heisenberg chain, and we find a power-law divergence $\ensuremath{\chi}={T}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ with $\ensuremath{\gamma}=1.32\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.13$. Difficulties in the method, particularly due to singular bonding, are discussed.
The classical Heisenberg model is one of the most fundamental models in statistical and condensed matter physics. Extensive theoretical and numerical studies suggest that, in two dimensions, this model does not exhibit a finite-temperature phase transition but instead manifests asymptotic freedom. However, some research has also proposed the possibility of a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition over the years. In this study, we revisit the classical two-dimensional (2D) Heisenberg model through large-scale simulations with linear system sizes up to L=16384L=16384L=16384. Our Monte Carlo data, without any extrapolation, clearly reveal an exponential divergence of the correlation length $\ensuremath{\xi}$ as a function of the inverse temperature $\ensuremath{\beta}$, a hallmark of asymptotic freedom. Moreover, extrapolating $\ensuremath{\xi}$ to the thermodynamic limit in the low-temperature regime achieves close agreement with the three-loop perturbative calculations. We further propose a finite-size scaling (FSS) ansatz for $\ensuremath{\xi}$, demonstrating that the pseudocritical point ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{L}$ diverges logarithmically with LLL. The thermodynamic and finite-size scaling behaviors of the magnetic susceptibility $\ensuremath{\chi}$ are also investigated and corroborate the predictions of asymptotic freedom. Our paper provides solid evidence for asymptotic freedom in the 2D Heisenberg model and advances understanding of finite-size scaling in such systems.
The thermodynamic properties of a classical spin-SSS Heisenberg ferromagnetic chain with long-range interactions in the presence of an external magnetic field are investigated by means of the spectral density method within the framework of the two-time Green's functions in classical statistical mechanics. For exchange interactions decaying as ${r}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}},$ it is shown that long-range order exists at finite temperature for $1<\ensuremath{\alpha}<2$ and that no transition to a ferromagnetic phase at any finite temperature occurs for $\ensuremath{\alpha}>~2,$ consistently with a recent extension of the Mermin-Wagner theorem to spin models with long-range interactions. Besides, by means of a suitable modification of the lowest-order moment equations for the spectral density, the critical temperature and the main critical exponents for $1<\ensuremath{\alpha}<2$ and the low-temperature behavior of the paramagnetic susceptibility for $\ensuremath{\alpha}>~2$ are also obtained. Our results appear in a reasonable agreement with the available exact ones and Monte Carlo calculations.
Thermodynamic properties of the quantum Heisenberg spin chains with S=1/2,S=1/2,S=1/2, 1, and 3/23/23/2 are investigated using the transfer-matrix renormalization-group method. The temperature dependence of the magnetization, susceptibility, specific heat, spin-spin correlation length, and several other physical quantities in a zero or finite applied field are calculated and compared. Our data agree well with the Bethe ansatz, exact diagonalization, and quantum Monte Carlo results and provide further insight into the quantum effects in the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chains.