We use the density matrix renormalization group method to investigate the role of gapless, dispersive quantized phonons on the Peierls transition in the extended Hubbard-Peierls model. We calculate the staggered phonon order parameter as a function of the Coulomb interaction and the phonon frequency. For all parameter ranges we show that the staggered phonon order parameter scales as $\sqrt{\ensuremath{\lambda}}$ (and the dimerized bond order scales as $\ensuremath{\lambda}$) as $\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ (where $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ is the electron-phonon interaction). We also show that the quantum phonon predictions for the bond order follow the classical (adiabatic) predictions as a function of inverse chain size for small $\ensuremath{\lambda}$. We thus conclude that quantum fluctuations in the nuclear degrees of freedom do not destroy the Peierls state for this model.
The density-matrix renormalization-group method is used to investigate the spin-Peierls transition for Heisenberg spins coupled to quantized phonons. We use a phonon spectrum that interpolates between a gapped, dispersionless (Einstein) limit to a gapless, dispersive (Debye) limit. A variety of theoretical probes are used to determine the quantum phase transition, including energy gap crossing, a finite-size scaling analysis, bond-order autocorrelation functions, and bipartite quantum entanglement. All these probes indicate that in the antiadiabatic phonon limit a quantum phase transition of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type is observed at a nonzero spin-phonon coupling,
gc. An extrapolation from the Einstein limit to the Debye limit is accompanied by an increase in
gc for a fixed optical $(q=\ensuremath{\pi})$ phonon gap. We therefore conclude that the dimerized ground state is more unstable with respect to Debye phonons with the introduction of phonon-dispersion renormalizing the effective spin-lattice coupling for the Peierls-active mode. We also show that the staggered spin-spin and phonon displacement order parameters are unreliable means of determining the transition.
The zero and finite temperature spin-Peierls transitions in a quasi-one-dimensional spin-
21 Heisenberg model coupled to adiabatic bond phonons is investigated using the stochastic series expansion (SSE) quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method. The quantum phase transition from a gapless N\'eel state to a spin-gapped Peierls state is studied in the parameter space spanned by spatial anisotropy, interchain coupling strength, and spin-lattice coupling strength. It is found that for any finite interchain coupling, the transition to a dimerized Peierls ground state only occurs when the spin-lattice coupling exceeds a finite, nonzero critical value. This is in contrast to the pure 1D model (zero interchain coupling), where adiabatic/classical phonons lead to a dimerized ground state for any nonzero spin-phonon interaction. The phase diagram in the parameter space shows that for a strong interchain coupling, the relation between the interchain coupling and the critical value of the spin-phonon interaction is linear whereas for weak interchain coupling, this behavior is found to have a natural logarithmlike relation. No region was found to have a long range magnetic order and dimerization occurring simultaneously. Instead, the N\'eel state order vanishes simultaneously with the setting in of the spin-Peierls state. For the thermal phase transition, a continuous heat capacity with a peak at the critical temperature
Tc shows a second order phase transition. The variation of the equilibrium bond length distortion ${\ensuremath{\delta}}_{eq}$ with temperature showed a power law relation which decayed to zero as the temperature was increased to
Tc, indicating a continuous transition from the dimerized phase to a paramagnetic phase with uniform bond length and zero antiferromagnetic susceptibility.
The density matrix renormalization group method is used to investigate the Peierls transition for the extended Hubbard model coupled to quantized phonons. Following our earlier work on spin-Peierls systems, we use a phonon spectrum that interpolates between a gapped, dispersionless (Einstein) limit and a gapless, dispersive (Debye) limit to investigate the entire frequency range. A variety of theoretical probes are used to determine the quantum phase transition, including energy gap crossing, a finite-size scaling analysis, and bipartite quantum entanglement. All these probes indicate that a transition of Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type is observed at a nonzero electron-phonon coupling
gc for a nonvanishing electron-electron interaction. An extrapolation from the Einstein limit to the Debye limit is accompanied by an increase in
gc for a fixed optical ($q=\ensuremath{\pi}$) phonon gap. We therefore conclude that the dimerized ground state is more unstable with respect to Debye phonons, with the introduction of phonon dispersion renormalizing the effective electron-lattice coupling for the Peierls-active mode. By varying the Coulomb interaction
U, we observe a generalized Peierls transition, intermediate between the uncorrelated (
U=0) and spin-Peierls ($U\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$) limits, where
U is the Hubbard Coulomb parameter. Using the extended Hubbard model with Debye phonons, we investigate the Peierls transition in trans-polyacetylene and show that the transition is close to the critical regime.
Using a new version of the density-matrix renormalization group we determine the phase diagram of a model of an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain where the spins interact with quantum phonons. A quantum phase transition from a gapless spin-fluid state to a gapped dimerized phase occurs at a nonzero value of the spin-phonon coupling. The transition is in the same universality class as that of a frustrated spin chain, to which the model maps in the diabatic limit. We argue that realistic modeling of known spin-Peierls materials should include the effects of quantum phonons.
The spin-Peierls transition in the ground state of a quasi-one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg model coupled to adiabatic bond phonons is studied using a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method. The transition from a gapless Neel state to a spin-gapped Peierls state is explored in the parameter space spanned by the spatial anisotropy and the strength of spin-lattice coupling. It is found that for any finite inter-chain coupling, the transition to a dimerized Peierls ground state occurs only when the spin-lattice coupling exceeds a finite, non-zero critical value. This is in contrast to the pure 1D model, where adiabatic phonons lead to a dimerized ground state for any non-zero spin-phonon coupling. The phase diagram in the above parameter space is mapped out. No evidence is found for a region of co-existing long range magnetic order and dimerization. The vanishing of the Neel order occurs simultaneously with the setting in of the dimerization.