A theoretical study of the low-temperature dynamics of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain in an external field is presented. The time- and frequency-dependent transverse and longitudinal spin fluctuations and energy fluctuations are calculated by means of a continued fraction representation. The frequency moments are evaluated analytically by a computer program. The transfer-operator technique is used to calculate all static correlation functions. For modest magnetic fields, a two-peak structure in the dynamic form factor of the transverse spin fluctuations is observed. Apart from the usual spin-wave excitations, the longitudinal-spin-fluctuation spectra show a broad second resonance for some temperatures and fields. The energy fluctuations display a dominant oscillatory time dependence.
We present the low-temperature dynamic properties of the quantum one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet with integer spin S coupled to phonons. The calculation of the relaxation function is performed using the combination of the memory function formalism with the modified spin-wave theory. The procedure includes up to two-magnon and magnon–phonon processes. We show that the phonon–magnon coupling smooths the double-peak structure obtained for the model in the absence of phonons, when the wavevector q moves from q = π.
The author calculates the dynamical structure factors of a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet at T=0, to order 1/(2S) 2 , taking careful account of the umklapp processes. It is shown that, for the transverse spin part, the terms of order 1/(2S) 2 give rise to a broad sideband peak of three-magnon excitations, whose intensity is small but not negligible. For the longitudinal spin part, the terms of order 1/(2S) 2 modify noticeably the spectral shape of the continuum of two-magnon excitations as a function of frequency. These results could be observed in future neutron scattering experiments.
We present results for the dynamic structure factor of the
S=1∕2 bond alternating Heisenberg chain over a large range of frequencies and temperatures. Data are obtained from a numerical evaluation of thermal averages based on the calculation of all eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for chains of up to 20 spins. Interpretation is guided by the exact temperature dependence in the noninteracting dimer limit which remains qualitatively valid up to an interdimer exchange $\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\approx}0.5$. The temperature induced central peak around zero frequency is clearly identified and aspects of the crossover to spin diffusion in its variation from low to high temperatures are discussed. The one-magnon peak acquires an asymmetric shape with increasing temperature. The two-magnon peak is dominated by the
S=1 bound state which remains well defined up to temperatures of the order of
J. The variation with temperature and wave vector of the integrated intensity for one-magnon and two-magnon scattering and of the central peak are discussed.
Spin-dynamical calculations on one-dimensional systems have relied heavily on classical ($s=\ensuremath{\infty}$) theories, despite abundant evidence that quantum effects can be extremely important at low temperatures. We present a new approach to the spin dynamics of the one-dimensional isotropic
s=21 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic (HB AF) which does not involve the many-body techniques usually employed. It is based on analytic Bethe ansatz calculations of excitation energies and densities of states combined with finite-chain calculations of matrix elements. An important feature of our method is the use of rigorous selection rules and the introduction of new selection rules, which are valid for macroscopic systems in a magnetic field. We show that in zero field the dynamical two-spin correlation function ${S}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\mu}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ at
T=0 is governed by a two-parameter continuum of spin-wave-type excitations. In nonzero field, the longitudinal component ${S}_{\mathrm{zz}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ and the transverse components ${S}_{\mathrm{xx}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega})\ensuremath{\equiv}{S}_{\mathrm{yy}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ behave quite differently because they are dominated by different continua of excitations. The former is characterized by a lowest excitation branch with a zero-frequency mode moving from the zone boundary ($q=\ensuremath{\pi}$) towards the zone center (
q=0) as the field increases, whereas the latter is characterized by a lowest branch with a zero frequency mode moving from $q=0 \mathrm{to} \ensuremath{\pi}$ with increasing field. The first part of our work features an approximate analytic expression for ${S}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\mu}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ at zero temperature and in zero field. Although our expression is not rigorous, exact sum rules are violated only by a small amount, and good agreement exists with the few known exact results. Our studies are extended to nonzero temperatures by placing major reliance on exact finite-chain calculations. Our work was stimulated by recent neutron scattering experiments and is oriented towards experimental comparisons. Our result for the
s=21 integrated intensity is in much better agreement with neutron scattering data on Cu
Cl2\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}2N(
C5D5) (CPC) than the corresponding semiclassical result. Moreover, the spectral-weight distribution in ${S}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\mu}}(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ shows increasing asymmetry as $q\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\pi}$, a quantum effect, again in agreement with more recent neutron scattering data. The second part of our work deals with the effects of an applied magnetic field. We extend the analytic work of Ishimura and Shiba to obtain expressions for the energies and densities of states of the various excitation continua. It is shown that these continua are expected to give rise to multiple structures in the scattering intensity. Our results appear to be in quantitative agreement with preliminary results of a neutron study in CPC in a field of 70 kOe, revealing anomalous scattering intensity peaks. Our results repeatedly demonstrate the inadequacy of classical spin-wave theory for this problem. They call for additional experimental studies on quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnets to examine other unusual and interesting phenomena predicted by our approach.