Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Journal of Applied Physics

Excitation spectra of generalized antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chains (abstract)

John B. Parkinson, J. C. Bonner

Published Apr 15, 1988• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We compare the excitation spectra in the presence of a magnetic field of a number of integrable (exactly solvable) and nonintegrable quantum spin chains of various spin value s. The archetypal Bethe-ansatz integrable model is the s= 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (HB AFM). The excitation spectra are characterized by a soft mode which tracks across the Brillouin zone as the field increases to its saturation value. A class of Bethe-ansatz integrable models with SU(2) symmetry and the general spin s display excitation spectra qualitatively similar to the spin- 1/2 model above, for all s. A second class of Bethe-ansatz integrable models has SU(n) symmetry, where n=2s+1. Like the SU(2) integrable chains, these models have gapless excitation spectra, but the basic Brillouin zone changes from k=±2π/(2s+1)a. Studies show that periodicity of the SU(3) member of the class changes (increases) as the field increases to saturation. For both classes of integrable models, there is a single type of excitation pattern which is generically similar for all s. In the case of the other models, on the other hand, numerical studies show that the excitations divide into at least two distinct classes. In the case of the s=1 HB AFM, at high fields (corresponding to SzT=N,N−1, . . .,N/2) the excitations map approximately onto the complete set of excitations for s= 1/2 , whereas at low fields (SzT=N/2,N/2−1,. . .,0) the excitations have notable classical character. In the case of the s=1 model with pure biquadratic exchange, one set of excitations, corresponding to SzT even (SzT=N,N−2,. . .,2,0), again shows an approximate mapping to the complete excitation set for s= 1/2 . The second class of excitations, corresponding to SzT odd, are very different. They are symmetric about k=±π/2a for all SzT, i.e., correspond to a basic Brillouin zone of ±π/2a.

DOI
10.1063/1.340526

Related papers

Generalized Heisenberg quantum spin chains (invited)

Jill C. Bonner

Since the Heisenberg spin chain can be considered the simplest realistic model of magnetism, surprise and some degree of controversy have resulted from recent work of Haldane. The prediction is that quantum spin chains with half-integer spin should all display T=0 phase behavior equivalent to that of the Bethe Ansatz integrable (solvable) spin-1/2 quantum chain. More remarkably, the class of integer spin chains is predicted to show very different phase behavior. In particular, a gap should be present in the spectrum of a Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. This remarkable feature is counterintuitive in terms of accepted wisdom in magnetism (spin-wave theory, spin-Peierls theory) and critical phenomena. Consequently the vertification of the prediction is of great interest. A considerable amount of numerical work has been done, involving finite-chain, finite-size scaling, variational, Monte Carlo and other calculations, which will be reviewed here. The present consensus is that the weight of numerical evidence supports the prediction, although puzzling features still remain. Adding additional interactions to the basic Heisenberg Hamiltonian such as spin (XXZ) anisotropy, single-ion anisotropy, biquadratic exchange, and an applied magnetic field, generates a rich and complicated phase diagram for chains with spin >1/2, particularly for the case of integer spin. The s=1 phase diagram seems to display critical behavior of a type not previously encountered. A theoretical appraisal of the Haldane phenomenon will include a discussion of the possible role of nonintegrability. Mention will also be made of current progress in experimental investigation of the phenomenon, including problems that might be encountered. More recent work of Affleck has greatly generalized the field-theoretic mappings which underlay the original work of Haldane. A number of interesting problems have been mapped into quantum spin chains of various types, including field theoretic phenomena and the localization problem of the quantum Hall effect.

Journal of Applied Physics•Apr 15, 1987•40 citations

Integrable quantum spin chains

Anastasia Doikou

Integrable quantum spin chains are exactly solvable quantum mechanical models of N quantum spins, of which the Heisenberg model solved by Bethe is the prototype. In the antiferromagnetic regime, such spin chains can be regarded as lattice versions of corresponding integrable relativistic quantum field theories. For integrable spin chains, quantities of physical interest (spectrum, S matrix, etc.) can be calculated exactly by direct means, starting from the microscopic Hamiltonian, while for the corresponding field theories, such exact information has been primarily obtained by indirect means, such as the “ bootstrap ” approach and semiclassical approximations. We have been focused basically on the Heisenberg XXX and XXZ chains and their generalizations. Basic aims of this work were the study of the symmetries of these models and the computation, by means of Bethe ansatz equations, of the bulk and boundary S matrices for the closed and open chains respectively...

•Jan 1, 1999•0 citations

Two-magnon excitations in quantum spin chains

Jianmin Liu, Jill C. Bonner

Quantum spin chains of higher spin are interesting in the case of both ferromagnets and antiferromagnets. They comprise a wide range of model types—Bethe–Ansatz integrable, nonintegrable, and with limited integrability. It is not well appreciated that the two-magnon (two-body) problems is always solvable, by Bethe–Ansatz and Green’s-function techniques, regardless of the integrability character of the entire model, with interesting implications in the context of solitons and bound solitons. Chubukov and Kveschenko have suggested using the two-magnon problem in a test for integrability and claim to find additional classes of integrable spin chains for s=1 and s= (3)/(2) . Here we investigate this situation.

Journal of Applied Physics•Apr 15, 1988•4 citations

Spin-1 biquadratic chain: Magnetization curve (abstract)

J. C. Bonner

The antiferromagnetic (AFM) s=1 chain with biquadratic exchange coupling has recently been the subject of considerable attention, and some controversy. Theoretical arguments by Affleck that the model has dimerized character associated with a small spectral excitation gap have not received unanimous support from numerical calculations. For finite systems the field-dependent dispersion spectra are interesting and informative concerning the nature of the model. The excitations divide into two classes having very different character, corresponding to SzT even and SzT odd. Reflection symmetry about k=π/2 is apparent if states with a given total spin ST, rather than SzT, are plotted as a function of wavevector k, consistent with the Affleck prediction of dimerized character. The high degeneracy of the eigenstates reflects the existence of new symmetry operators which (a) shift the SzT value, (b) change wave vector k to π/2−k, and (c) shift the total spin quantum ST, of the energy eigenstates. Parkinson has recently observed that finite N states with SzT even and SzT≥2 map into states of the finite N s= 1/2 XXZ model at a special value of uniaxial anisotropy. Barber and Batchelor (unpublished) have shown the existence of an analytic mapping between states of the s=1 biquadratic chain and the 2D 9-state Potts model. They further show that all states of the Parkinson s= 1/2 XXZ model map into states of the s=1 biquadratic model. Hence, they find the ground state and first excited state energies exactly, and verify the Affleck picture. Their approach falls short of establishing complete integrability, however. Numerical studies on finite chains indicate that the T=0 magnetization curve is determined by the lowest-energy states for given SzT even, which are states of the s= 1/2 XXZ chain. Hence the magnetization curve of the s=1 AFM biquadratic chain is the same as the analytically known magnetization curve of the s= 1/2 XXZ chain!

Journal of Applied Physics•May 1, 1990•0 citations

Magnetic field properties of the integrable S=1 isotropic quantum spin chain

John B. Parkinson, J. C. Bonner

The integrable S=1 isotropic quantum spin chain of N atoms, introduced by Takhtajan (1982) and Bubujian (1983), is studied as a function of magnetisation and hence of magnetic field. The methods used are (i) direct numerical diagonalisation for N<or=12, (ii) numerical solution of the Bethe ansatz equations for N=6, 12, 16, 20, 40, (iii) analytic solution of the Bethe ansatz equations for N to infinity . The authors obtain results for the multiple string structure using the first two of these methods, showing the dominance of two-strings in the ground state and elementary excitations. Based on this they calculate the magnetisation as a function of field in the thermodynamic limit, over the whole spin-flop regime. They observe a tracking soft mode in the finite N results and also an energy gap which tends to zero as N to infinity . Their conclusion is that the system behaves much more like the integrable S= 1 / 2 Heisenberg model than the nonintegrable S=1 Heisenberg model.

Journal of Physics C Solid State Physics•Oct 30, 1986•4 citations

Dynamical properties of spin-orbital chains in a magnetic field

Weiqiang Yu, Stephan Haas

The excitation spectrum of the one-dimensional spin-orbital model in a magnetic field is studied, using a recently developed dynamical density-matrix renormalization-group technique. The method is applied to chains with up to 80 sites, and examined for test cases such as the one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet whose excitation spectrum is known exactly from the Bethe ansatz. In the spin-orbital chain, the characteristic dynamical response depends strongly on the model parameters and the applied magnetic field. The coupling between the spin and orbital degrees of freedom is found to influence the incommensuration at finite magnetizations. In the regions of the phase diagram with only massive spin and orbital excitations, a finite field is required to overcome the spin gap. An orbital mode is found to become massless in this partially spin-polarized regime, indicating a strong coupling between the two degrees of freedom. In the critical region with three elementary gapless excitations, a prominent particle-hole excitation is observed at higher energies, promoted by the biquadratic term in the model Hamiltonian of the spin-orbital chain.

arXiv:cond-mat/0005526•Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Dec 20, 2000•13 citations
We compare the excitation spectra in the presence of a magnetic field of a number of integrable (exactly solvable) and nonintegrable quantum spin chains of various spin value s. The archetypal Bethe-ansatz integrable model is the s= 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (HB AFM). The excitation spectra are characterized by a soft mode which tracks across the Brillouin zone as the field increases to its saturation value. A class of Bethe-ansatz integrable models with SU(2) symmetry and the general spin s display excitation spectra qualitatively similar to the spin- 1/2 model above, for all s. A second class of Bethe-ansatz integrable models has SU(n) symmetry, where n=2s+1. Like the SU(2) integrable chains, these models have gapless excitation spectra, but the basic Brillouin zone changes from k=±2π/(2s+1)a. Studies show that periodicity of the SU(3) member of the class changes (increases) as the field increases to saturation. For both classes of integrable models, there is a single type of excitation pattern which is generically similar for all s. In the case of the other models, on the other hand, numerical studies show that the excitations divide into at least two distinct classes. In the case of the s=1 HB AFM, at high fields (corresponding to SzT=N,N−1, . . .,N/2) the excitations map approximately onto the complete set of excitations for s= 1/2 , whereas at low fields (SzT=N/2,N/2−1,. . .,0) the excitations have notable classical character. In the case of the s=1 model with pure biquadratic exchange, one set of excitations, corresponding to SzT even (SzT=N,N−2,. . .,2,0), again shows an approximate mapping to the complete excitation set for s= 1/2 . The second class of excitations, corresponding to SzT odd, are very different. They are symmetric about k=±π/2a for all SzT, i.e., correspond to a basic Brillouin zone of ±π/2a.
Since the Heisenberg spin chain can be considered the simplest realistic model of magnetism, surprise and some degree of controversy have resulted from recent work of Haldane. The prediction is that quantum spin chains with half-integer spin should all display T=0 phase behavior equivalent to that of the Bethe Ansatz integrable (solvable) spin-1/2 quantum chain. More remarkably, the class of integer spin chains is predicted to show very different phase behavior. In particular, a gap should be present in the spectrum of a Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. This remarkable feature is counterintuitive in terms of accepted wisdom in magnetism (spin-wave theory, spin-Peierls theory) and critical phenomena. Consequently the vertification of the prediction is of great interest. A considerable amount of numerical work has been done, involving finite-chain, finite-size scaling, variational, Monte Carlo and other calculations, which will be reviewed here. The present consensus is that the weight of numerical evidence supports the prediction, although puzzling features still remain. Adding additional interactions to the basic Heisenberg Hamiltonian such as spin (XXZ) anisotropy, single-ion anisotropy, biquadratic exchange, and an applied magnetic field, generates a rich and complicated phase diagram for chains with spin >1/2, particularly for the case of integer spin. The s=1 phase diagram seems to display critical behavior of a type not previously encountered. A theoretical appraisal of the Haldane phenomenon will include a discussion of the possible role of nonintegrability. Mention will also be made of current progress in experimental investigation of the phenomenon, including problems that might be encountered. More recent work of Affleck has greatly generalized the field-theoretic mappings which underlay the original work of Haldane. A number of interesting problems have been mapped into quantum spin chains of various types, including field theoretic phenomena and the localization problem of the quantum Hall effect.
Integrable quantum spin chains are exactly solvable quantum mechanical models of N quantum spins, of which the Heisenberg model solved by Bethe is the prototype. In the antiferromagnetic regime, such spin chains can be regarded as lattice versions of corresponding integrable relativistic quantum field theories. For integrable spin chains, quantities of physical interest (spectrum, S matrix, etc.) can be calculated exactly by direct means, starting from the microscopic Hamiltonian, while for the corresponding field theories, such exact information has been primarily obtained by indirect means, such as the “ bootstrap ” approach and semiclassical approximations. We have been focused basically on the Heisenberg XXX and XXZ chains and their generalizations. Basic aims of this work were the study of the symmetries of these models and the computation, by means of Bethe ansatz equations, of the bulk and boundary S matrices for the closed and open chains respectively...
Quantum spin chains of higher spin are interesting in the case of both ferromagnets and antiferromagnets. They comprise a wide range of model types—Bethe–Ansatz integrable, nonintegrable, and with limited integrability. It is not well appreciated that the two-magnon (two-body) problems is always solvable, by Bethe–Ansatz and Green’s-function techniques, regardless of the integrability character of the entire model, with interesting implications in the context of solitons and bound solitons. Chubukov and Kveschenko have suggested using the two-magnon problem in a test for integrability and claim to find additional classes of integrable spin chains for s=1 and s= (3)/(2) . Here we investigate this situation.
The antiferromagnetic (AFM) s=1 chain with biquadratic exchange coupling has recently been the subject of considerable attention, and some controversy. Theoretical arguments by Affleck that the model has dimerized character associated with a small spectral excitation gap have not received unanimous support from numerical calculations. For finite systems the field-dependent dispersion spectra are interesting and informative concerning the nature of the model. The excitations divide into two classes having very different character, corresponding to SzT even and SzT odd. Reflection symmetry about k=π/2 is apparent if states with a given total spin ST, rather than SzT, are plotted as a function of wavevector k, consistent with the Affleck prediction of dimerized character. The high degeneracy of the eigenstates reflects the existence of new symmetry operators which (a) shift the SzT value, (b) change wave vector k to π/2−k, and (c) shift the total spin quantum ST, of the energy eigenstates. Parkinson has recently observed that finite N states with SzT even and SzT≥2 map into states of the finite N s= 1/2 XXZ model at a special value of uniaxial anisotropy. Barber and Batchelor (unpublished) have shown the existence of an analytic mapping between states of the s=1 biquadratic chain and the 2D 9-state Potts model. They further show that all states of the Parkinson s= 1/2 XXZ model map into states of the s=1 biquadratic model. Hence, they find the ground state and first excited state energies exactly, and verify the Affleck picture. Their approach falls short of establishing complete integrability, however. Numerical studies on finite chains indicate that the T=0 magnetization curve is determined by the lowest-energy states for given SzT even, which are states of the s= 1/2 XXZ chain. Hence the magnetization curve of the s=1 AFM biquadratic chain is the same as the analytically known magnetization curve of the s= 1/2 XXZ chain!
The integrable S=1 isotropic quantum spin chain of N atoms, introduced by Takhtajan (1982) and Bubujian (1983), is studied as a function of magnetisation and hence of magnetic field. The methods used are (i) direct numerical diagonalisation for N<or=12, (ii) numerical solution of the Bethe ansatz equations for N=6, 12, 16, 20, 40, (iii) analytic solution of the Bethe ansatz equations for N to infinity . The authors obtain results for the multiple string structure using the first two of these methods, showing the dominance of two-strings in the ground state and elementary excitations. Based on this they calculate the magnetisation as a function of field in the thermodynamic limit, over the whole spin-flop regime. They observe a tracking soft mode in the finite N results and also an energy gap which tends to zero as N to infinity . Their conclusion is that the system behaves much more like the integrable S= 1 / 2 Heisenberg model than the nonintegrable S=1 Heisenberg model.
The excitation spectrum of the one-dimensional spin-orbital model in a magnetic field is studied, using a recently developed dynamical density-matrix renormalization-group technique. The method is applied to chains with up to 80 sites, and examined for test cases such as the one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet whose excitation spectrum is known exactly from the Bethe ansatz. In the spin-orbital chain, the characteristic dynamical response depends strongly on the model parameters and the applied magnetic field. The coupling between the spin and orbital degrees of freedom is found to influence the incommensuration at finite magnetizations. In the regions of the phase diagram with only massive spin and orbital excitations, a finite field is required to overcome the spin gap. An orbital mode is found to become massless in this partially spin-polarized regime, indicating a strong coupling between the two degrees of freedom. In the critical region with three elementary gapless excitations, a prominent particle-hole excitation is observed at higher energies, promoted by the biquadratic term in the model Hamiltonian of the spin-orbital chain.