The behavior of Haldane-gap antiferromagnets in a strong magnetic field is not universal. While the low-energy physics of the conventional one-dimensional spin-1 Heisenberg model in its magnetized regime is described by one incommensurate soft mode, other systems with somewhat perturbed coupling constants can possess two characteristic soft modes in a certain range of the field strength. Such a two-component Luttinger liquid phase is realized above the massive Haldane-gap phase, and in general above any massive nonmagnetic phase, when the ground state exhibits short-range incommensurate fluctuations already in the absence of the field.
Scaling aspects of Gaussian topological phase transitions in quantum spin chains are investigated using the prototypical one-dimensional spin-1 XXZ Heisenberg model with uniaxial single-ion anisotropy
D. This model presents a critical line separating the gapped Haldane and large-
D phases, with the relevant energy gap closing at the transition point. We show that a proper tangential finite-size scaling analysis is able to accurately locate the Gaussian critical line and to probe the continuously varying set of correlation length critical exponents. The specific features of the tangential scaling are highlighted, in contrast to the standard scaling holding in the Ising-like transition between the gapless antiferromagnetic N\'eel and gapped Haldane phases. Our results are compared with field-theoretic predictions and available high-accuracy data for specific points along the Gaussian line.
Neutron scattering has shown that the lowest spin excitations in the spin-1 antiferromagnet
CsNiCl3 in its one-dimensional phase occur at finite frequency. After allowance for the known weak interchain coupling the gap is found to be in good agreement with recent numerical calculations. The results support the Haldane conjecture that in integral-spin chains with isotropic interactions a gap separates the ground state from the excitations.
We review the basic properties of the Haldane phase in spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains, including its persistence in quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) geometries. Using large-scale numerical simulations, we map out the phase diagram for a realistic model applicable to experimental Haldane compounds. We also investigate the effect of different chain coupling geometries and confirm a general mean-field universality of the critical coupling times the coordination number of the lattice. Inspired by recent developments in the characterization of symmetry protected topological (SPT) states, of which the Haldane phase of the spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain is a preeminent example, we provide direct evidence that the Q1D Haldane phase is indeed a nontrivial SPT state.
The phase diagram of the quantum spin-
21 antiferromagnetic ${J}_{1}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{J}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}$ XXZ chain was obtained by Haldane using bosonization techniques [Haldane, Phys. Rev. B 25, 4925 (1982); Phys. Rev. B 26, 5257 (1982)]. It supports three distinct phases for $0\ensuremath{\le}{J}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}/{J}_{1}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}<\frac{1}{2}$, i.e., a gapless algebraic spin-liquid phase, a gapped long-range ordered Neel phase, and a gapped long-range ordered dimer phase. Even though the Neel and dimer phases are not related hierarchically by a pattern of symmetry breaking, it was shown that they meet along a line of quantum critical points with a U(1) symmetry and central charge
c=1. Here, we extend the analysis made by Haldane on the quantum spin-
21 antiferromagnetic ${J}_{1}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{J}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}$ XYZ chain using both bosonization and numerical techniques. We show that there are three Neel phases and the dimer phase that are separated from each other by six planes of phase boundaries realizing Gaussian criticality when $0\ensuremath{\le}{J}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}/{J}_{1}^{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}<\frac{1}{2}$. We also show that each long-range ordered phase harbors topological point defects (domain walls) that are dual to those across the phase boundary in that a defect in one ordered phase locally binds the other type of order around its core. By using the bosonization approach, we identify the critical theory that describes simultaneous proliferation of these dual point defects, and show that it supports an emergent U(1) symmetry that originates from the discrete symmetries of the XYZ model. To confirm this numerically, we perform exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization-group calculations and show that the critical theory is characterized by the central charge
c=1 with critical exponents that are consistent with those obtained from the bosonization approach. Furthermore, we generalize the field-theoretic description of direct continuous phase transition to higher dimensions, especially in
d=3, by using a nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) with a topological term. In particular, we propose the $\ensuremath{\pi}$-flux phase on the cubic lattice with local quartic interactions as a platform for direct continuous phase transition and deconfined criticality. We discuss possible phase diagrams for the $\ensuremath{\pi}$-flux phase on the cubic lattice with these quartic interactions from the renormalization flow of NLSMs.