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Testing Haldane's conjecture in the O(3) model by a meron cluster simulation

Wolfgang Bietenholz A, Andrew V. Pochinsky, U.‐J. Wiese

Published Jan 1, 1995• 4 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Twelve years ago, Haldane formulated his famous conjecture for 1-d antiferromagnetic quantum spin chains. In the context of the 2-d O(3) model with a \\theta term, it predicts a phase transition at \\theta = \\pi, which has not yet been verified reliably. To simulate this we use the Wolff cluster algorithm together with an improved estimator for the topological charge distribution. Each cluster carries integer or half integer charge. Clusters with charge 1/2 are identified with merons. At \\theta = \\pi they are inactive, such that the mass gap vanishes. We obtain critical exponents which are consistent with predictions from the k=1 WZNW model, therefore confirming a second order phase transition.

Related papers

S=2 antiferromagnetic quantum spin chain

Ulrich Schollwöck, O. Golinelli, Th. Jolicœur

We have investigated Haldane's conjecture for the S=2 antiferromagnetic quantum spin chain with nearest-neighbor exchange J. Using a density matrix renormalization group algorithm for chains up to L=350 spins, we find in the thermodynamic limit a finite gap of \ensuremath{\Delta}=0.085(5)J and a finite spin-spin correlation length \ensuremath{\xi}=49(1) lattice spacings. We have confirmed the gap value by a zero-temperature quantum Monte Carlo study. We show that the ground state has a hidden topological order that is revealed in a nonlocal string correlation function which saturates to a nonzero value in the thermodynamic limit. We investigate the behavior of the spin-2 chain under an easy-plane anisotropy D(${\mathit{S}}_{\mathit{i}}^{\mathit{z}}$${)}^{2}$, D\ensuremath{\gtrsim}0, and find that the Haldane and the large-D phase are separated by an XY phase. The string correlation function vanishes only in the D\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty} limit and does not distinguish between the Haldane phase and the perturbative large-D phase. An analysis of the transition mechanism and of the S=2 phase diagram in the presence of easy-plane and exchange anisotropy, markedly different from the S=1 phase diagram, allow us to conjecture how the classical limit is reached from increasing integer spins. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Aug 1, 1996•78 citations

Scaling behavior in the S=1 antiferromagnetic X X Z chain (abstract)

J. C. Bonner, Gerhard H. Muller, John B. Parkinson

A recent remarkable prediction by Haldane is the 1D integer spin antiferromagnets of XXZ type should show strikingly different T=0 phase behavior from their counterparts with half-integer spin. The consensus of a wide variety of numerical evidence is in support of the Haldane prediction. However, one aspect which has been particularly difficult to confirm has been the behavior in the vicinity of the critical point Δ=Δ2. The point Δ2 is predicted to be a second-order transition in the universality class of the transverse Ising model at its critical field. It has been numerically established that at Δ=Δ2∼1.18–1.20, the Haldane gap disappears and an excited SzT=0 state becomes degenerate with the SzT=0 ground state for Δ≥Δ2. The mapping to the transverse Ising model implies the existence in the limit N→∞ of an infinite continuum of scaling states quasi-degenerate with the ground state(s) at Δ=Δ2. Numerical calculations to determine the presence of these scaling states have been performed up to N=12 spins for the spin-1 XXZ model. The development of this scaling continuum is only apparent for large N, when a class of k=0, SzT=0 high-lying spectral excitations develop a minimum in the vicinity of Δ∼1.18 which intensifies with increasing N. These excitations extrapolate well below the lower edge of the triplet continuum, and we conclude these are the Haldane scaling states. This conclusion is reinforced by a detailed study of the corresponding excitations for the spin-1/2 transverse Ising model. However, we also find a class of k=0, ‖SzT‖=1 excitations which show similar scaling behavior in the vicinity of Δ2. These states were not included in the Haldane prediction. The implications for the behavior of the correlation functions at Δ2 are discussed.

Journal of Applied Physics•Apr 15, 1988•0 citations

Quantum phase transitions to topological Haldane phases in spin-one chains studied by linked-cluster expansions

Patrick Adelhardt, Julian Gritsch, M. Hille +2 more

We use linked-cluster expansions to analyze the quantum phase transitions between symmetry-unbroken trivial and topological Haldane phases in two different spin-one chains. The first model is the spin-one Heisenberg chain in the presence of a single-ion anisotropy, while the second one is the dimerized spin-one Heisenberg chain. For both models, we determine the ground-state energy and the one-particle gap inside the nontopological phase as a high-order series using perturbative continuous unitary transformations. Extrapolations of the gap series are applied to locate the quantum critical point and to extract the associated critical exponent. We find that this approach works unsatisfactorily for the anisotropic chain, since the quality of the extrapolation appears insufficient due to the large correlation length exponent. In contrast, extrapolation schemes display very good convergence for the gap closing in the case of the dimerized spin-one Heisenberg chain.

arXiv:1710.03105•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Dec 14, 2017•3 citations

Physics of integer-spin antiferromagnetic chains: Haldane gaps and edge states

Th. Jolicœur, O. Golinelli

The antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain with integer spin has a short-range magnetic order and an excitation energy gap above the ground state. This so-called Haldane gap is proportional to the exchange coupling constant J of the Heisenberg chain. In this study, we discuss recent results about the spin dependence of the Haldane gap and conjecture an analytical formula valid asymptotically for large spin values. We then discuss the robustness of the edge states of the spin-1 chain by studying a spin-1 ladder using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm. We show that the peculiar hidden topological order of the spin-1 chain disappears smoothly by increasing the ladder rung coupling without any intervening phase transition. This is evidence for the fragile character of the topological order of the spin-1 chain.

arXiv:1906.12207•Comptes Rendus Chimie•Jun 1, 2019•13 citations

A note on Haldane’s conjecture

Li-Hua Pan, Chang-De Gong

According to Haldane’s conjecture, there is a spin gap of the excitation spectrum in integer Heisenberg spin chains whereas half-integer spin chains have a gapless excitation spectrum. In an earlier publication (Hung and Gong 2005 Phys. Rev. B 71 054413), the Haldane gap and other properties of the spin-1 system are explained using a spin-1/2 alternating bond chain model. The ferromagnetic–ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain is expected to behave similarly to the uniform spin-3/2 Heisenberg chain for strong ferromagnetic coupling. And the general nonuniform spin-1/2 chain may be used to explain the properties of the integer and half-integer high spin- S chains, consistently. In this paper, we provide a detailed numerical verification for the above problems.

Journal of Physics Condensed Matter•Apr 25, 2008•3 citations

Non-Abelian bosonization and Haldane’s conjecture

D. C. Cabra, Pierre Pujol, Cecilia von Reichenbach

We study the long-wavelength limit of a spin $S$ Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. The fermionic Lagrangian obtained corresponds to a perturbed level $2S$ $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model. This effective theory is then mapped into a compact $U(1)$ boson interacting with ${Z}_{2S}$ parafermions. The analysis of this effective theory allows us to show that when $S$ is an integer there is a mass gap to all excitations, whereas this gap vanishes in the half-odd-integer spin case and the ${\mathrm{SU}(2)}_{2S}$ WZW model flows towards the ${\mathrm{SU}(2)}_{1}$ stable fixed point. This gives a field theory treatment of the so-called Haldane's conjecture for arbitrary values of the spin $S$.

arXiv:hep-th/9802014•Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Jul 1, 1998•24 citations
Twelve years ago, Haldane formulated his famous conjecture for 1-d antiferromagnetic quantum spin chains. In the context of the 2-d O(3) model with a \theta term, it predicts a phase transition at \theta = \pi, which has not yet been verified reliably. To simulate this we use the Wolff cluster algorithm together with an improved estimator for the topological charge distribution. Each cluster carries integer or half integer charge. Clusters with charge 1/2 are identified with merons. At \theta = \pi they are inactive, such that the mass gap vanishes. We obtain critical exponents which are consistent with predictions from the k=1 WZNW model, therefore confirming a second order phase transition.
We have investigated Haldane's conjecture for the S=2 antiferromagnetic quantum spin chain with nearest-neighbor exchange J. Using a density matrix renormalization group algorithm for chains up to L=350 spins, we find in the thermodynamic limit a finite gap of \ensuremath{\Delta}=0.085(5)J and a finite spin-spin correlation length \ensuremath{\xi}=49(1) lattice spacings. We have confirmed the gap value by a zero-temperature quantum Monte Carlo study. We show that the ground state has a hidden topological order that is revealed in a nonlocal string correlation function which saturates to a nonzero value in the thermodynamic limit. We investigate the behavior of the spin-2 chain under an easy-plane anisotropy D(Siz{\mathit{S}}_{\mathit{i}}^{\mathit{z}}Siz​)2{)}^{2})2, D\ensuremath{\gtrsim}0, and find that the Haldane and the large-D phase are separated by an XY phase. The string correlation function vanishes only in the D\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty} limit and does not distinguish between the Haldane phase and the perturbative large-D phase. An analysis of the transition mechanism and of the S=2 phase diagram in the presence of easy-plane and exchange anisotropy, markedly different from the S=1 phase diagram, allow us to conjecture how the classical limit is reached from increasing integer spins. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
A recent remarkable prediction by Haldane is the 1D integer spin antiferromagnets of XXZ type should show strikingly different T=0 phase behavior from their counterparts with half-integer spin. The consensus of a wide variety of numerical evidence is in support of the Haldane prediction. However, one aspect which has been particularly difficult to confirm has been the behavior in the vicinity of the critical point Δ=Δ2. The point Δ2 is predicted to be a second-order transition in the universality class of the transverse Ising model at its critical field. It has been numerically established that at Δ=Δ2∼1.18–1.20, the Haldane gap disappears and an excited SzT=0 state becomes degenerate with the SzT=0 ground state for Δ≥Δ2. The mapping to the transverse Ising model implies the existence in the limit N→∞ of an infinite continuum of scaling states quasi-degenerate with the ground state(s) at Δ=Δ2. Numerical calculations to determine the presence of these scaling states have been performed up to N=12 spins for the spin-1 XXZ model. The development of this scaling continuum is only apparent for large N, when a class of k=0, SzT=0 high-lying spectral excitations develop a minimum in the vicinity of Δ∼1.18 which intensifies with increasing N. These excitations extrapolate well below the lower edge of the triplet continuum, and we conclude these are the Haldane scaling states. This conclusion is reinforced by a detailed study of the corresponding excitations for the spin-1/2 transverse Ising model. However, we also find a class of k=0, ‖SzT‖=1 excitations which show similar scaling behavior in the vicinity of Δ2. These states were not included in the Haldane prediction. The implications for the behavior of the correlation functions at Δ2 are discussed.
We use linked-cluster expansions to analyze the quantum phase transitions between symmetry-unbroken trivial and topological Haldane phases in two different spin-one chains. The first model is the spin-one Heisenberg chain in the presence of a single-ion anisotropy, while the second one is the dimerized spin-one Heisenberg chain. For both models, we determine the ground-state energy and the one-particle gap inside the nontopological phase as a high-order series using perturbative continuous unitary transformations. Extrapolations of the gap series are applied to locate the quantum critical point and to extract the associated critical exponent. We find that this approach works unsatisfactorily for the anisotropic chain, since the quality of the extrapolation appears insufficient due to the large correlation length exponent. In contrast, extrapolation schemes display very good convergence for the gap closing in the case of the dimerized spin-one Heisenberg chain.
The antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain with integer spin has a short-range magnetic order and an excitation energy gap above the ground state. This so-called Haldane gap is proportional to the exchange coupling constant J of the Heisenberg chain. In this study, we discuss recent results about the spin dependence of the Haldane gap and conjecture an analytical formula valid asymptotically for large spin values. We then discuss the robustness of the edge states of the spin-1 chain by studying a spin-1 ladder using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm. We show that the peculiar hidden topological order of the spin-1 chain disappears smoothly by increasing the ladder rung coupling without any intervening phase transition. This is evidence for the fragile character of the topological order of the spin-1 chain.
According to Haldane’s conjecture, there is a spin gap of the excitation spectrum in integer Heisenberg spin chains whereas half-integer spin chains have a gapless excitation spectrum. In an earlier publication (Hung and Gong 2005 Phys. Rev. B 71 054413), the Haldane gap and other properties of the spin-1 system are explained using a spin-1/2 alternating bond chain model. The ferromagnetic–ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain is expected to behave similarly to the uniform spin-3/2 Heisenberg chain for strong ferromagnetic coupling. And the general nonuniform spin-1/2 chain may be used to explain the properties of the integer and half-integer high spin- S chains, consistently. In this paper, we provide a detailed numerical verification for the above problems.
We study the long-wavelength limit of a spin SSS Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. The fermionic Lagrangian obtained corresponds to a perturbed level 2S2S2S SU(2)\mathrm{SU}(2)SU(2) Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model. This effective theory is then mapped into a compact U(1)U(1)U(1) boson interacting with Z2S{Z}_{2S}Z2S​ parafermions. The analysis of this effective theory allows us to show that when SSS is an integer there is a mass gap to all excitations, whereas this gap vanishes in the half-odd-integer spin case and the SU(2)2S{\mathrm{SU}(2)}_{2S}SU(2)2S​ WZW model flows towards the SU(2)1{\mathrm{SU}(2)}_{1}SU(2)1​ stable fixed point. This gives a field theory treatment of the so-called Haldane's conjecture for arbitrary values of the spin SSS.