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arXiv:cond-mat/9501115 · Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Haldane Gap and Hidden Order in the S = 2 Antiferromagnetic Quantum Spin Chain

Ulrich Schollwöck, Th. Jolicœur

Published Jun 10, 1995• 130 citations
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Abstract

We have investigated Haldane's conjecture for the S = 2 antiferromagnetic quantum spin chain with nearest-neighbour exchange J . Using a density matrix renormalization group algorithm for chains up to L = 350 spins, we show that the ground state has hidden topological order: the physics of the S = 2 chain can be captured by a valence bond solid description. We also observe effective free spin-1 states at the ends of an open S = 2 chain. We find in the thermodynamic limit a gap Δ = 0.085(5) J and a spin correlation length ξ = 49(1) lattice spacings in the isotropic case. We give the phase diagram in the presence of single-ion and exchange anisotropy, showing how the Haldane phase is squeezed out when the spin S increases.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/30/8/009

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We have investigated Haldane's conjecture for the S = 2 antiferromagnetic quantum spin chain with nearest-neighbour exchange J . Using a density matrix renormalization group algorithm for chains up to L = 350 spins, we show that the ground state has hidden topological order: the physics of the S = 2 chain can be captured by a valence bond solid description. We also observe effective free spin-1 states at the ends of an open S = 2 chain. We find in the thermodynamic limit a gap Δ = 0.085(5) J and a spin correlation length ξ = 49(1) lattice spacings in the isotropic case. We give the phase diagram in the presence of single-ion and exchange anisotropy, showing how the Haldane phase is squeezed out when the spin S increases.
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.
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.
The ground-state properties of a spin S=1/2S=1/2S=1/2 tetrameric Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain with alternating couplings AF1-AF2-AF1-F{\text{AF}}_{1}{\text{-AF}}_{2}{\text{-AF}}_{1}\text{-F}AF1​-AF2​-AF1​-F (AF and F denote antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic couplings, respectively) are studied by means of the density-matrix renormalization-group method. Two plateaus of magnetization mmm are found at m=0m=0m=0 and 1/4. It is shown that in such a spin-1/2 AF system, there is a gap from the singlet ground state to the triplet excited states in the absence of a magnetic field. The spin-spin correlation function decays exponentially, and the gapped states have a nonvanishing string order, which measures a hidden symmetry in the system. By a dual transformation, the string order is transformed into a ferromagnetic order and the hidden symmetry is unveiled to be a ${Z}_{2}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{Z}_{2}$ discrete symmetry, which is fully broken in the gapped states. This half-integer spin Heisenberg AF chain is in a Haldane-like phase suggesting that the present findings extend the substance of Haldane's scenario. A valence-bond-solid state picture is also proposed for the gapped states.
In this paper we study an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg S=2S=2S=2 quantum spin chain at T=0T=0T=0 with both interaction and on-site anisotropy, $H={\ensuremath{\sum}}_{i}\frac{1}{2}{(S}_{i}^{+}{S}_{i+1}^{\ensuremath{-}}{+S}_{i}^{\ensuremath{-}}{S}_{i+1}^{+}{)+J}^{z}{S}_{i}^{z}{S}_{i+1}^{z}{+D(S}_{i}^{z}{)}^{2}$. While the phase diagram of this chain for S=1S=1S=1 and the isotropic point for S=2S=2S=2 are by now excellently understood, contradictory scenarios exist for the S=2S=2S=2 anisotropic phase diagram, which imply completely different mechanisms of the emergence of the classical $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{S}\ensuremath{\infty}$ limit, hence the importance of the question. One main scenario predicts the emergence of a cascade of phase transitions not seen in the S=1S=1S=1 case, based on an analysis using the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) model. Another scenario is in favor of an almost classical phase diagram for S=2S=2S=2, from which the $S=\ensuremath{\infty}$ phase diagram evolves quite trivially; the S=1S=1S=1 case then emerges as very special with its dominant quantum effects. Numerical studies have so far not been conclusive. Using the density matrix renormalization group, we study gaps and correlation functions in the anisotropic S=2S=2S=2 chain. The question of the existence of hidden topological order in the anisotropic S=2S=2S=2 chain is emphasized, as it distinguishes between the proposed scenarios. Careful extrapolation allows us to show that the topological order is zero in the thermodynamical limit in all disordered phases, in particular in the new phase interposed between the Haldane and large-DDD phases. The decay of the hidden order is substantially faster than that of ${S}^{+}{S}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ correlations and excellently fitted by power laws typical of massless phases. This excludes the AKLT-model-based scenario in favor of an almost classical phase diagram for the S=2S=2S=2 and thus higher spin chains.
We investigate ground-state and low-lying excited states of the S = 1 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain with exchange anisotropy, single-ion anisotropy and biquadratic exchange and with free boundary conditions. We present an approximate mapping of the S = 1 model to an effective S = 1/2 chain in an external magnetic field, which can be solved exactly in several limiting cases. We obtain results for the phase diagram, correlation functions and the excitation spectrum. The transition to the Haldane phase is related to the condensation of the lowest soliton modes and the hidden order parameter of the Haldane phase is identified as transverse long-range order in the effective S = 1/2 chain.
The manifestations of topological effects in finite antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains are examined by density-matrix renormalization-group techniques. We find that the difference between integer and half-integer spin chains shows up in ground-state energy per site when the length of the spin chain is longer than \ensuremath{\sim}\ensuremath{\xi}, where $\ensuremath{\xi}\ensuremath{\sim}\mathrm{exp}(\ensuremath{\pi}S)$ is a spin-spin correlation length, for spin magnitudes S up to 5/2.5/2.5/2. For open chains with spin magnitudes S=5/2S=5/2S=5/2 to S=5,S=5,S=5, we verify that end states with fractional spin quantum numbers ${S}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ exist and are visible in the structure of the low-energy excitation spectrum even when the chain length is much smaller than the correlation length \ensuremath{\xi}. The robustness of end states points to the possibility of the existence of general hidden topological order in quantum spin chains with spin magnitudes S> 1.S>~1.S> 1.