The effect of anisotropies on the energy gap and magnetization for odd number of coupled quantum spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic anisotropic Heisenberg systems is investigated using the linear spin wave theory. However, for the chains, the energy gap opens above a critical anisotropy. While, for the planes, in the isotropic case, such system exhibits a long-range order and no energy gap. Whereas, in the anisotropic case the energy gap opens above a critical anisotropic value. Known results of the isotropic case have been obtained.
Ground state properties of finite anisotropic antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains are studied for odd half-integer spins S= 1 / 2 , 3 / 2 ... as well as integer spins S=1, 2 .... Finite size scaling analysis of the results clearly distinguishes the half-integer (S= 1 / 2 , 3 / 2 ) from the integer (S=1) spin situation. It gives strong support to a recent conjecture which postulates that the T=0 phase structure is very different in the two cases. According to this idea there exists a new phase between the planar and the antiferromagnetic region, for integer spins only. This phase, which includes the isotropic point, has a finite energy gap and no long range order.
The anisotropic
XXZ spin-
21 Heisenberg chain is studied using renormalization-group theory. The specific heats and nearest-neighbor spin-spin correlations are calculated throughout the entire temperature and anisotropy ranges in both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic regions, obtaining a global description and quantitative results. We obtain, for all anisotropies, the antiferromagnetic spin-liquid spin-wave velocity and the Ising-like ferromagnetic excitation spectrum gap, exhibiting the spin-wave to spinon crossover. A number of characteristics of purely quantum nature are found: The in-plane interaction
sixsjx+siysjy induces an antiferromagnetic correlation in the out-of-plane
siz component, at higher temperatures in the antiferromagnetic
XXZ chain, dominantly at low temperatures in the ferromagnetic
XXZ chain, and, in-between, at all temperatures in the
XY chain. We find that the converse effect also occurs in the antiferromagnetic
XXZ chain: an antiferromagnetic
sizsjz interaction induces a correlation in the
sixy component. As another purely quantum effect, (i) in the antiferromagnet, the value of the specific heat peak is insensitive to anisotropy and the temperature of the specific heat peak decreases from the isotropic (Heisenberg) with introduction of either type (Ising or
XY) of anisotropy; and (ii) in complete contrast, in the ferromagnet, the value and temperature of the specific heat peak increase with either type of anisotropy.
The double chain Heisenberg antiferromagnet with anisotropy is studied using the mapping onto the coupled anisotropic nonlinear σ model. This model consists of two anisotropic antiferromagnetic quantum Heisenberg chains with half-integer spin coupled with each other via the ferromagnetic interchain coupling J '. For small J ', our analysis suggests that J ' is an irrelevant parameter and consequently the two chains behave independently and no gap is generated. On the other hand, for large enough J ', the two chains behave as a single Heisenberg chain with integer spin which has a gap in the excitation spectrum. The expected behavior in the isotropic limit is also discussed.
We investigate the existence of N\'eel long-range order in a spatially anisotropic antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model. As the anisotropical coupling ${J}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$ increases from
0 to
1, the model interpolates between an infinite number of decoupled one-dimensional gapped spin chains and a two-dimensional gapless isotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet. By applying a method based on reflection positivity [F. J. Dyson, E. H. Lieb, and B. Simon, J. Stat. Phys.
18, 335 (1978)], we determine the upper bound of the critical values of ${J}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}^{c}$ such that when ${J}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}>~{J}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}^{c},$ the ground state of this model has an antiferromagnetic long-range order. For the case of spin
S=1, our result confirms and strengthens previous results derived by numerical calculations on finite-size samples, while for other values of S, our results are new.
In the present work low energy excitations in various antiferromagnetic systems are investigated.The first part is devoted to the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain with two different alternating magnetic ions having spins S A and S B .The system can be characterised as a ferrimagnet with a long range ordered ground state.Linear spin wave theory (LSWT) leads to a qualitatively correct description of two excitation branches.The low energy spectrum contains ferromagnetic magnons which are discussed in the introductory chapter.The LSWT results are compared with the numerical data from exact diagonalisation for the case S A =1 and S B =1/2.In the second part of the thesis, the quantum phase transitions from the Néel phase to the Heisenberg phase and from the Néel phase to the Haldane phase for half-odd-integer spins S =1 /2, 3/2 and integer spins S =1 , 2, respectively, are studied in context of the Haldane conjecture.The models are analysed by means of high-order series expansions for the ground state properties and excitation energies.The expansion parameter is the anisotropy λ where the unperturbed case λ =0corresponds to the Ising model.For the integer-S systems the following scenario is obtained: The phase transitions from the Néel phase to the Haldane phase are determined by the condensation of the so-called spin zero defects (SZD) at finite anisotropy.These domain wall type excitations can be characterised as S z =0states embedded in the antiferromagnetic order.The critical exponents β of the order parameter and η of the correlation function are those of the two-dimensional Ising model.In contrast to the above scenario, the half-odd-integer S =1/2 chain undergoes the Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition at the isotropic point.In the case of the S =3/2 chain the critical behaviour of the static structure factor S (zz) (π) is consistent with the exponentially divergent correlation length at the isotropic point.Finally, kink excitations of the S =1 /2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet chain with nearest and next nearest neighbour interactions (the zigzag chain) are investigated.Here a kink is defined as a free spin S =1 /2 mediating two dimerised ground states.The phase diagram of the zigzag chain contains the Majumdar-Ghosh model as well as the S =1/2 spin ladder and the S =1Heisenberg antiferromagnet.Starting from the Majumdar-Ghosh model, a two-kink variational wave function with S tot =1is constructed.The variational parameter is the characteristic distance between the two kinks.The variational wave function describes the low energy triplet excitation of the gapped zigzag chain in a qualitatively correct way.Within this approach, the elementary excitation of the spin ladder as well as the Haldane triplet of the S =1chain appears as a bound state of two kinks.The phase diagram of the zigzag chain contains the incommensurate phase where the wave vector of the lowest mode k 0 runs from k 0 =0to k 0 = π.At the qualitative level, this behaviour is correctly described by the variational approach.