The phase diagram of two coupled anisotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains forming a ladder is studied via the finite-size machinery arising from conformal invariance. Our results show that this system has similar behaviour to the anisotropic spin-1 Heisenberg chain. Both models for low values of anisotropies have a massless phase of Gaussian type, governed by a c = 1 conformal field theory. The operator that destroys the massless phase in these models is the same as in the Gaussian picture. We also verify that the massive phase in the anisotropic Heisenberg ladder has the same type of nonlocal order as that in the spin-1 Heisenberg chain.
The phase diagram of two coupled anisotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains forming a ladder is studied via the finite-size machinery arising from conformal invariance. Our results show that this system has similar behaviour to the anisotropic spin-1 Heisenberg chain. Both models for low values of anisotropies have a massless phase of Gaussian type, governed by a c = 1 conformal field theory. The operator that destroys the massless phase in these models is the same as in the Gaussian picture. We also verify that the massive phase in the anisotropic Heisenberg ladder has the same type of nonlocal order as that in the spin-1 Heisenberg chain.
The critical behaviour of anisotropic Heisenberg models with two kinds of antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled centres are studied numerically by using finite-size calculations and conformal invariance. These models exhibit the interesting property of ferrimagnetism instead of antiferromagnetism. Most of our results are centred in the mixed Heisenberg chain where we have at even (odd) sites a spin- SU(2) operator interacting with a XXZ-like interaction (anisotropy ). Our results indicate universal properties for all these chains. The whole phase, , where the models change from ferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic behaviour is critical. Along this phase the critical fluctuations are ruled by a c = 1 conformal field theory of Gaussian type. The conformal dimensions and critical exponents, along this phase, are calculated by studying these models with several boundary conditions.
The critical behaviour of anisotropic Heisenberg models with two kinds of antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled centers are studied numerically by using finite-size calculations and conformal invariance. These models exhibit the interesting property of ferrimagnetism instead of antiferromagnetism. Most of our results are centered in the mixed Heisenberg chain where we have at even (odd) sites a spin-S (S ′) SU(2) operator interacting with a XXZ like interaction (anisotropy ∆). Our results indicate universal properties for all these chains. The whole phase, 1> ∆> −1, where the models change from ferromagnetic ( ∆ = 1) to ferrimagnetic ( ∆ = −1) behaviour is critical. Along this phase the critical fluctuations are ruled by a c = 1 conformal field theory of Gaussian type. The conformal dimensions and critical exponents, along this phase, are calculated by studying these models with several boundary conditions. 1
The authors are concerned with the critical properties of the anisotropic Heisenberg chain, or XXZ model, with arbitrary integer or half-integer spin. The eigenspectra of these Hamiltonians, with periodic boundaries, are calculated for finite chains by solving numerically their associated Bethe ansatz equations. The resulting spectra are found to be in accord with the predictions of conformal invariance and the operator content is identified, for lattices with an even and odd number of sites. The results for spin 1 and spin 3/2 indicate that the conformal anomaly c for these models, in the gapless regime, has the value c=3S/(1+S), independent of the anisotropy, and the exponents vary continuously with the anisotropy as in the eight-vertex model. The operator content of these models indicate that the underlying field theory governing these critical spin-S models is described by composite fields formed by the product of Gaussian and Z(N) fields, with N=2S. Finally some of the irrelevant operators which produce the leading finite-size corrections of the eigenenergies are identified.
Using the density-matrix renormalization group, we investigate the critical behavior of the anisotropic Heisenberg chains with spins up to s=9/2. We show that through the relations arising from the conformal invariance and the DMRG technique it is possible to obtain accurate finite-size estimates of the conformal anomaly c, the sound velocity vs, the anomalous dimension xbulk, and the surface exponent xs of the anisotropic spin-s Heisenberg chains with relatively good accuracy without fitting parameters. Our results indicate that the entanglement entropy S(L,lA,s) of the spin-s Heisenberg chains satisfies the relation $S(L,{l}_{A},s)\ensuremath{-}S(L,{l}_{A},s\ensuremath{-}1)=1/(2s+1)$ for s>3/2 in the thermodynamic limit.
Using a Lanczos method, we study the spectra of Heisenberg chains with spin S=1, 3/2, 2, 5/2, and 3, as a function of the anisotropy parameter \ensuremath{\lambda} and the number of sites of the chain. We use periodic, twisted, and open boundary conditions. We found that for all values of the spin when -1\ensuremath{\le}\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\le}0, these models are massless with critical behavior described by a conformal theory with central charge c=1. We discuss the whole operator content. In particular, we found that the critical exponent ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\eta}}}_{\mathit{x}}$ follows the behavior ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\eta}}}_{\mathit{x}}$=(\ensuremath{\pi}-\ensuremath{\gamma})/2\ensuremath{\pi}S and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\eta}}}_{\mathit{z}}$=2 where \ensuremath{\gamma}=${\mathrm{cos}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$(\ensuremath{\lambda}). For \ensuremath{\lambda}>0, our results indicate that the S=1 model is massive, while for S>1, the massless behavior characterized by the critical exponents described above continues up to \ensuremath{\lambda}=${\ensuremath{\lambda}}^{\mathrm{*}}$(S). For ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}^{\mathrm{*}}$\ensuremath{\le}1, our results are consistent with a massive phase for the integer-spin models and a massless phase with a rapid variation of the critical exponents for the half-integer-spin models.
In this thesis, we deal with 1-dimensional anisotropic spin models more specifically with the chain and ladder geometries. These models are fundamental to the study of condensed matter theory and quantum magnetism because of their simplicity. Research into the chain model dates back to 1930s with Hans Bethe. One method to study these systems is through numerical analysis including renormalization group techniques. These allow for the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian without sacrificing computation to a large virtual Hilbert space. In this thesis, we present results for both the spin chain and spin ladder geometries in open boundary conditions. This work uses the density matrix renormalization group technique to calculate system energy. Initially we will present a study into the spin energy gap of the spin-\sfrac{1}{2} anisotropic (XXZ) Heisenberg chain in open boundary conditions (OBCs). The energy gap is shown to be reduced to half in the ground sector when compared to periodic boundary conditions (PBCs) due to edge effects. Secondly, a full phase diagram for the spin-\sfrac{1}{2} anisotropic Heisenberg ladder is presented which shows the emergence of a rich schematic with a variety of phases. Lastly, weak coupling limit maps are compared to quantum field theory phase transition predictions. This research was motivated by the lack of comprehensive phase diagram results for ladders and by real materials being investigated at the University of Kent.