We discuss new high-field magnetization data recently obtained by Tsirlin et al. for layered vanadium phosphates in the framework of the square-lattice model. Our predictions for the saturation fields compare exceptionally well to the experimental findings, and the strong bending of the curves below saturation agrees very well with the experimental field dependence. Furthermore we discuss the remarkably good agreement of the frustrated Heisenberg model on the square lattice in spite of the fact that the compounds described with this model actually have a lower crystallographic symmetry. We present results from our calculations on the thermodynamics of the model on the orthorhombic (i.e., rectangular) lattice, in particular the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility. This analysis also sheds light on the discussion of magnetic frustration and anisotropy of a class of iron pnictide parent compounds, where several alternative suggestions for the magnetic exchange models were proposed.
muSR and 7Li NMR relaxation measurements in frustrated two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets on a square lattice are presented. It is found that both in Li2VOSiO4 and Li2VOGeO4, spin dynamics at frequencies well below the Heisenberg exchange frequency are present. These dynamics are associated with the motions of walls separating coexisting collinear domains with a magnetic wave vector rotated by 90 degrees.
For the frustrated two-dimensional $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model close to quantum phase transition we consider the singlet ground states retaining both translational and SU(2) symmetry. Besides usually discussed checkerboard, spin-liquid and stripe states an unconventional state with two coexisting long-range orders appears to be possible at sufficiently large damping of spin excitations. The problem is treated in the frames of self-consistent spherically symmetric approach.
We use a recently proposed perturbative numerical renormalization group algorithm to investigate ground-state properties of a frustrated three dimensional Heisenberg model on an anisotropic lattice. We analyze the ground state energy, the finite size spin gap and the static magnetic structure factor. We find in two dimensions a frustration-induced gapless spin liquid state which separates two magnetically ordered phases. In the spin liquid state, the magnetic structure factor shows evidence that this state is made of nearly disconnected chains. This spin liquid state is unstable against unfrus…
Aiming to describe frustrated quantum magnets with non-magnetic singlet ground states, we have extended the Rokhsar-Kivelson (RK) loop-expansion to derive a generalized Quantum Dimer Model containing only connected terms up to arbitrary order. For the square lattice frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet (J1-J2-J3 model), an expansion up to 8th order shows that the leading correction to the original RK model comes from dimer moves on length-6 loops. This model free of the original sign problem is treated by advanced numerical techniques. The results suggest that a rotationally anisotropic plaqu…
We study the dynamical response of frustrated, quasi-one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets at finite temperatures. We allow for the presence of a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We concentrate on a model of weakly coupled planes of anisotropic triangular lattices. Combining exact results for the dynamical response of one dimensional Heisenberg chains with a Random Phase Approximation (RPA) in the frustrated interchain couplings, we calculate the dynamical susceptibility in the disordered phase. We investigate the instability of the disordered phase to the formation of collect…
We investigate quantum phase transitions for the $s=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a pyrochlore lattice. By means of a series expansion starting from isolated tetrahedra, the ground-state phase diagram is determined. When the ratio of the two competing exchange couplings is varied, the first-order (second-order) quantum phase transition occurs between the two spin gap phases (the spin-gap and the antiferromagnetic phases). We also discuss some properties expected for the s=1 pyrochlore spin system.
We consider the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on two one-dimensional frustrated lattices, double-tetrahedral chain and octahedral chain, with almost dispersionless (flat) lowest magnon band in a strong magnetic field. Using the localized magnons picture, we construct an effective description of the one-dimensional chains with triangle and square traps within the strong coupling approximation. We perform extensive exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group calculations to check the validity of the obtained effective Hamiltonians by comparison with the initial m…
We investigate non-equilibrium properties of the frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets on the triangular lattice. Nonequilibrium critical relaxation of frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets shows a dynamic transition (or, at least, sharp crossover) at the same temperature $T_{\rm u}=0.282 J$ as for static properties due to unbinding of $\mathbb{Z}_2$-vortices. We show that starting from the high-temperature initial state, due to presence of $\mathbb{Z}_2$-vortices in the considering system, in a broad temperature range $T<T_{\rm u}$ the dynamic properties in the intermediate time range are s…
We use bosonization and renormalization group methods to determine the ground state phase diagram of a one-dimensional frustrated Kondo-Heisenberg system consisting of a one-dimensional spin-1/2 Luttinger liquid coupled by a Kondo exchange interaction $J_K$ to a frustrated quantum antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain, with a nearest-neighbor exchange coupling $J_1$ and a next-nearest-neighbor (frustrating) exchange interaction $J_2$. We analyze the interplay of quantum frustration in the antiferromagnetic chain with the Kondo exchange coupling $J_K$ with the Luttinger liquid. We discuss the stru…
Using a lattice-gas description of the low-energy degrees of freedom of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the frustrated two-leg ladder and bilayer lattices we examine the magnetization process at low temperatures for these spin models. In both cases the emergent discrete degrees of freedom implicate a close relation of the frustrated quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet to the classical lattice gas with finite nearest-neighbor repulsion or, equivalently, to the Ising antiferromagnet in a uniform magnetic field. Using this relation we obtain analytical results for thermodynamically large…
Using the Bond Operator Technique (BOT), we have studied the low energy excitationspectrum of a frustrated dimerized antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain. In particular, we have compared our analytical results with previous Exact Diagonalizations (ED) data. Qualitatively, the BOT results are in good agreement with the ED data. And even a very good quantitative agreement is obtained in some parameter region. It is clearly shown that there is only one elementary excitation branch (lowest triplet branch) and that the two other well defined excitations which appear below the continuum, one singlet a…
Using the density-matrix renormalization group, we determine the phase diagram of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a honeycomb lattice with a nearest neighbor interaction J1 and a frustrating, next-neighbor exchange J2. As frustration increases, the ground state exhibits Neel, plaquette and dimer orders, with critical points at J2/J1 = 0.22 and 0.35. We observe that both the spin gap and the corresponding order parameters vanish continuously at both the critical points, indicating the presence of deconfined quantum criticality.
We calculate the low-temperature thermodynamic quantities (magnetization, correlation functions, transverse and longitudinal correlation lengths, spin susceptibility, and specific heat) of the frustrated one-dimensional spin-half J1-J2 Heisenberg ferromagnet, i.e. for J2< 0.25|J1|, in an external magnetic field using a second-order Green-function formalism and full diagonalization of finite systems. We determine power-law relations for the field dependence of the position and the height of the maximum of the uniform susceptibility. Considering the specific heat at low magnetic fields, two maxi…
Magnetic excitations in the triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet (TLHA) CuCrO2 were studied using single-crystal inelastic neutron scattering. A diffusive quasielastic component that persisted without developing a correlation length over a wide temperature range both below and above the ordering temperature was observed. Furthermore, characteristic momentum dependence was observed that was reproduced using minimum spin clusters. The robust spin clusters contrast with conventional magnetic ordering and may be universal in TLHAs.
We study the ground-state properties of weakly frustrated Heisenberg ferrimagnetic chains with nearest and next-nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic exchange interactions and two types of alternating sublattice spins S_1 > S_2, using 1/S spin-wave expansions, density-matrix renormalization group, and exact- diagonalization techniques. It is argued that the zero-point spin fluctuations completely destroy the classical commensurate- incommensurate continuous transition. Instead, the long-range ferrimagnetic state disappears through a discontinuous transition to a singlet state at a larger value of…
We present a detailed numerical analysis of the low energy excitation spectrum of a frustrated and dimerized spin $S=1/2$ Heisenberg chain. In particular, we show that in the commensurate spin--Peierls phase the ratio of the singlet and triplet excitation gap is a universal function which depends on the frustration parameter only. We identify the conditions for which a second elementary triplet branch in the excitation spectrum splits from the continuum. We compare our results with predictions from the continuum limit field theory . We discuss the relevance of our data in connection with recen…
Based on exact diagonalization data for finite quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets on two frustrated lattices (two-leg ladder and bilayer) and analytical arguments we map low-energy degrees of freedom of the spin models in a magnetic field on classical lattice-gas models. Further we use transfer-matrix calculations and classical Monte Carlo simulations to give a quantitative description of low-temperature thermodynamics of the quantum spin models. The classical lattice-gas model yields an excellent description of the quantum spin models up to quite large temperatures. The main peculiarity of t…
Within Dyson-Maleev (DM) transformation and self-consistent mean-field treatment, the Néel order/disorder transition is studied for an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model which is defined on a square lattice with a nearest neighbour exchange $J_1$ and a next-nearest neighbour exchange $J_2$ along only one of the diagonals. It is found that the Néel order may exist up to $J_2/J_1=0.572$, beyond its classically stable regime. This result qualitatively improves that from linear spin-wave theory based on Holstein-Primakoff transformation.
We consider the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 $XXZ$ Heisenberg model on a frustrated diamond-chain lattice in a $z$- or $x$-aligned external magnetic field. We use the strong-coupling approach to elaborate an effective description in the low-temperature strong-field regime. The obtained effective models are spin-1/2 $XY$ chains which are exactly solvable through the Jordan-Wigner fermionization. We perform exact-diagonalization studies of the magnetization curves to test the quality of the effective description. The results may have relevance for the description of the azurite spin-chain compound…
Motivated by recent experimental work on FeCrAs, we study the magnetic properties of classical spin models on the hexagonal Fe$_2$P/ZrNiAl structure (space group $P{\bar{6}}2m$). When both transition metal/rare earth sites carry magnetic moments, one has alternating distorted kagome and triangular lattice layers. Each point of the triangular lattice lies at the centre of a distorted hexagon and actually corresponds to three isolated magnetic atoms: a "trimer". We show that a simple model consisting of antiferromagnetically correlated Heisenberg spins on the frustrated distorted kagome lattice …
We present a Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) study of the ground-state properties of spin-1/2 frustrated $J_1-J_3$ Heisenberg $n_l$-leg ladders (with $n_l$ up to 8). For strong frustration ($J_3/J_1\simeq 0.5$), both even- and odd-leg ladders display a finite gap to spin excitations, which we argue remains finite in the two-dimensional limit. In this regime, on odd-leg ladders the ground state is spontaneously dimerized, in agreement with the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis prediction, while on even-leg ladders the dimer correlations decay exponentially. The magnitude of the dimer order parame…
We propose a general non-perturbative scheme that quantitatively maps the low-energy sector of spin-1/2 frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets to effective Generalized Quantum Dimer Models. We develop the formal lattice independent frame and establish some important results on (i) the locality of the generated Hamiltonians (ii) how full resummations can be performed in this renormalization scheme. The method is then applied to the much debated kagome antiferromagnet for which a fully resummed effective Hamiltonian - shown to capture the essential properties and provide deep insights on the mic…
As a simple model for spin-Peierls systems we study a frustrated Heisenberg chain coupled to optical phonons. In view of the anorganic spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3 we consider two different mechanisms of spin-phonon coupling. Combining variational concepts in the adiabatic regime and perturbation theory in the anti-adiabatic regime we derive effective spin Hamiltonians which cover the dynamical effect of phonons in an approximate way. Ground-state phase diagrams of these models are determined, and the effect of frustration is discussed. Comparing the properties of the ground state and of low-l…
Recently it was argued that quantum phase transitions can be radically different from classical phase transitions with as a highlight the 'deconfined critical points' exhibiting fractionalization of quantum numbers due to Berry phase effects. Such transitions are supposed to occur in frustrated ('$J_1$-$J_2$') quantum magnets. We have developed a novel renormalization approach for such systems which is fully respecting the underlying lattice structure. According to our findings, another profound phenomenon is around the corner: a fluctuation induced (order-out-of-disorder) first order transiti…
We perform a comprehensive analysis of the bimagnon resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) intensity spectra of the spatially frustrated Jx-Jy-J2 Heisenberg model on a square lattice in both the antiferromagnetic and the collinear antiferromagnetic phase. We study the model for strong frustration and significant spatial anisotropy to highlight the key signatures of RIXS spectrum splitting which may be experimentally discernible. Based on an interacting spin wave theory study within the ladder approximation Bethe-Salpeter scheme, we find the appearance of a robust two-peak structure over a …
This talk was about the frustration-induced criticality in the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the two-leg ladder with exchange interactions along the chains, rungs, and diagonals, and also about the effect of thermal fluctuations on this criticlity. The method used is the bond mean-field theory, which is based on the Jordan-Wigner transformation in dimensions higher than one. In this paper, we will summarize the main results presented in this talk, and report on new results about the couplings and temperature dependences of the spin susceptibility.
The existence and stability of spin-liquid phases represent a central topic in the field of frustrated magnetism. While a few examples of spin-liquid ground states are well established in specific models (e.g. the Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice), recent investigations have suggested the possibility of their appearance in several Heisenberg-like models on frustrated lattices. An important related question concerns the stability of spin liquids in the presence of small perturbations in the Hamiltonian. In this respect, the magnetoelastic interaction between spins and phonons represents a …
The low energy spin excitations of the Fe pnictide parent compounds have been determined by inelastic neutron scattering and interpreted within the local moment J_1a,b-J_2 Heisenberg model with orthorhombic symmetry. This has led to alternative exchange models that strongly differ in the size of anisotropy. Although the compounds are itinerant the localised spin model can explain basic features of the excitations. The inherent frustration of this model leads to quantum fluctuations and possible moment reduction. We investigate this question in detail using spin wave approximation and partly ex…
In this paper, we propose a method to understand the nature for the quantum disorder phase of the two-dimensional (2D) high spin frustrated model. The ground state and excitation properties of a fully frustrated 2D spin-1 model are studied based on a model whose groundstate can be found exactly. By analogy to the pseudo-potential approach in the fractional quantum Hall effect, we conclude that the ground states of the fully frustrated spin-1 model are doubly degenerate valance bond solid (VBS) states along the horizontal or vertical direction of the square lattice. We also find that the ground…
Strain applied to a condensed-matter system can be used to engineer its excitation spectrum via artificial gauge fields, or it may tune the system through transitions between different phases. Here we demonstrate that strain tuning of the ground state of otherwise highly degenerate frustrated systems can induce novel phases, both ordered and disordered. For the classical Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice, we show that weak triaxial strain reduces the degeneracies of the system, leading to a classical spin liquid with non-coplanar configurations, while stronger strain drives the …
Entanglement renormalization techniques are applied to numerically investigate the ground state of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on a kagome lattice. Lattices of N={36,144,inf} sites with periodic boundary conditions are considered. For the infinite lattice, the best approximation to the ground state is found to be a valence bond crystal (VBC) with a 36-site unit cell, compatible with a previous proposal. Its energy per site, E=-0.43221, is an exact upper bound and is lower than the energy of any previous (gapped or algebraic) spin liquid candidate for the ground state.
We have formulated a twist operator argument for the geometrically frustrated quantum spin systems on the kagome and triangular lattices, thereby extending the application of the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) and Oshikawa-Yamanaka-Affleck (OYA) theorems to these systems. The equivalent large gauge transformation for the geometrically frustrated lattice differs from that for non-frustrated systems due to the existence of multiple sublattices in the unit cell and non-orthogonal basis vectors. Our study for the $S=1/2$ kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet at zero external magnetic field gives a criterio…
Motivated by recent experiments on low-dimensional frustrated quantum magnets with competing nearest-neighbor exchange coupling J1 and next nearest-neighbor exchange coupling J2 we investigate the magnetic susceptibility of two-dimensional J1-J2 Heisenberg models with arbitrary spin quantum number s. We use exact diagonalization and high-temperature expansion up to order 10 to analyze the influence of the frustration strength J2/J1 and the spin quantum number s on the position and the height of the maximum of the susceptibility. The derived theoretical data can be used to get information on th…
Geometrically frustrated magnetic molecules have attracted a lot of interest in the field of molecular magnetism as well as frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets. In this article we demonstrate how an approximate diagonalization scheme can be used in order to obtain thermodynamic and spectroscopic information about frustrated magnetic molecules. To this end we theoretically investigate an antiferromagnetically coupled spin system with cuboctahedral structure modeled by an isotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian.
A number of topological nodes including Dirac, quadratic and triple band touching points as well as a pair of degenerate Dirac line nodes are found to emerge in the triplet plaquette excitations of the frustrated spin-1/2 $J_1$-$J_2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg honeycomb model when the ground state of the system lies in a spin-disordered plaquette-valence-bond-solid phase. A six-spin plaquette operator theory of this honeycomb model has been developed for this purpose by using the eigenstates of an isolated Heisenberg hexagonal plaquette. Spin-1/2 operators are thus expressed in the Fock spac…
Spin fluctuations in the triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet NaCrO$_2$ are investigated by means of quasi-elastic neutron scattering with high energy resolution and wide energy band. Two components with the following features are captured separately. They are pronounced at intermediate temperatures of 20-50 K. One with quite an extended lifetime corresponding to $\sim$$0.001E_{\rm ex}$ ($E_{\rm ex}$ the exchange energy) nearly disappears at low temperature 10 K, and the other with an extended lifetime $\sim$$0.01E_{\rm ex}$ survives there, identified as free $Z_2$ vortex and $Z_2$-vo…
We consider the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on three frustrated lattices (the diamond chain, the dimer-plaquette chain and the two-dimensional square-kagome lattice) with almost dispersionless lowest magnon band. Eliminating high-energy degrees of freedom at high magnetic fields, we construct low-energy effective Hamiltonians which are much simpler than the initial ones. These effective Hamiltonians allow a more extended analytical and numerical analysis. In addition to the standard strong-coupling perturbation theory we also use a localized-magnon based approach leading to a s…
We have studied the two-dimensional S=1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet $Cu(pz)_2(ClO_4)_2$ using inelastic neutron scattering and series expansion calculations. We show that the presence of antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbor interactions enhances quantum fluctuations associated with resonating valence bonds. Intermediate magnetic fields lead to a selective tuning of resonating valence bonds and a spectacular inversion of the zone-boundary dispersion, providing novel insight into 2D antiferromagnetism in the quantum limit.
The ground state phase diagram is determined exactly for the frustrated classical Heisenberg model plus nearest-neighbor biquadratic exchange interactions on a 2-dimensional lattice. A square- and a rhombic-symmetry version are considered. There appear ferromagnetic, incommensurate-spiral, "up-up-down-down" (uudd) and canted ferromagnetic states, a non-spiral coplanar state that is an ordered vortex lattice, plus a non-coplanar ordered state (a "conical vortex lattice"). In the rhombic case, which adds biquadratic terms to the Heisenberg model used widely for insulating manganites, the uudd st…
We consider the frustrated antiferromagnetic s=1 Heisenberg quantum spin chain with regard to the Marshall-Peierls sign rule (MPSR). By using exact diagonalization data we investigate the breakdown of the MPSR in dependence on frustration and compare our findings with data for s=1/2. We calculate a critical value of frustration J_2(crit) where the MPSR is violated. The extrapolation of this value to the infinite chain limit holds J_2(crit) approx. 0.016, lower than in the case of s=1/2 (J_2(crit) approx. 0.027). This points to a stronger influence of frustration in the case of s=1. Nevertheles…
NMR and magnetization measurements in Li$_2$VOSiO$_4$ and Li$_2$VOGeO$_4$ are reported. The analysis of the susceptibility shows that both compounds are two-dimensional $S=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnets on a square lattice with a sizeable frustration induced by the competition between the superexchange couplings $J_1$ along the sides of the square and $J_2$ along the diagonal. Li$_2$VOSiO$_4$ undergoes a low-temperature phase transition to a collinear order, as theoretically predicted for $J_2/J_1 > 0.5$. Just above the magnetic transition the degeneracy between the two collinear ground stat…
We employ a variational Monte Carlo approach to efficiently obtain the dynamical structure factor for the spin-1/2 $J_1-J_2$ Heisenberg model on the square lattice. Upon increasing the frustrating ratio $J_2/J_1$, the ground state undergoes a continuous transition from a Néel antiferromagnet to a $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ gapless spin liquid. We identify the characteristic spectral features in both phases and highlight the existence of a broad continuum of excitations in the proximity of the spin-liquid phase. The magnon branch, which dominates the spectrum of the unfrustrated Heisenberg model, gradual…
We use recently developed strong-coupling expansion methods to study the two-particle spectra for the frustrated alternating Heisenberg model, consisting of an alternating nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic exchange and a uniform second neighbor antiferromagnetic exchange. Starting from the limit of weakly coupled dimers, we develop high order series expansions for the effective Hamiltonian in the two-particle subspace. In the limit of a strong applied dimerization, we calculate accurately various properties of singlet and triplet bound states and quintet antibound states. We also develop seri…
We analyze the thermodynamic properties of the spin-S two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice with nearest and next-nearest neighbor couplings in the Neel phase (J_2/J_1<0.4) employing the quantum hierarchical reference theory (QHRT), a non-perturbative implementation of the renormalization group method to quantum systems. We investigate the staggered susceptibility, the structure factors and the correlation length at finite temperature and for different values of the frustration ratio. From the finite temperature results, we also extrapolate ground state propert…
The magnon Hedin's equations are derived via the Schwinger functional derivative technique, and the resulting self-consistent Green's function method is used to calculate ground state spin patterns and magnetic structure factors for 2-dimensional magnetic systems with frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg exchange coupling. Compared to random-phase approximation treatments, the inclusion of a self-energy correction improves the accuracy in the case of scalar product interactions, as shown by comparisons between our method and exact benchmarks in homogeneous and inhomogeneous finite systems. We also f…
We have considered the 1D dimerized frustrated antiferromagnetic (ferromagnetic) Heisenberg model with arbitrary spin $S$. The exact classical magnetic phase diagram at zero temperature is determined using the LK cluster method. Cluster method results, show that the classical ground state phase diagram of the model is very rich including first and second-order phase transitions. In the absence of the dimerization, a second-order phase transition occurs between antiferromagnetic (ferromagnetic) and spiral phases at the critical frustration $α_c=\pm 0.25$. In the vicinity of the critical points …
We calculate the temperature dependence of the correlation length xi and the uniform susceptibility chi_0 of the frustrated J1-J2 square-lattice Heisenberg ferromagnet in the collinear stripe phase using Green-function technique. The height chi_{max} and the position T(chi_{max}) of the maximum in the chi_0(T) curve exhibit a characteristic dependence on the frustration parameter J2/|J1|, which is well described by power laws, chi_{max}=a(J2-J2^c)^{-nu} and T(chi_{max})=b(J_2-J_2^c), where J2^c = 0.4 and nu is of the order of unity.The correlation length diverges at low temperatures as xi \pro…
Kalmeyer-Laughlin (KL) chiral spin liquid (CSL) is a type of quantum spin liquid without time-reversal symmetry, and it is considered as the parent state of an exotic type of superconductivity--anyon superconductor. Such exotic state has been sought for more than twenty years, however it remains unclear whether it can exist in realistic system where time-reversal symmetry is breaking (T-breaking) spontaneously. By using the density matrix renormalization group, we show that KL CSL exists in a frustrated anisotropic kagome Heisenberg model (KHM), which has spontaneously T-breaking. We find that…
Interactions between elementary excitations in quasi-one dimensional antiferromagnets are of experimental relevance and their quantitative theoretical treatment has been a theoretical challenge for many years. Using matrix product states, one can explicitly determine the wavefunctions of the one- and two-particle excitations, and, consequently, the contributions to dynamical correlations. We apply this framework to the (non integrable) frustrated dimerized spin-1/2 chain, a model for generic spin-Peierls systems, where low-energy quasi-particle excitations are bound states of topological solit…
We report $^{133}$Cs nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements on the 2D frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$ down to 2 K and up to 15 T. We show that $^{133}$Cs NMR is a good probe of the magnetic degrees of freedom in this material. Cu spin degrees of freedom are sensed through a strong anisotropic hyperfine coupling. The spin excitation gap opens above the critical saturation field. The gap value was determined from the activation energy of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate in a magnetic field applied parallel to the Cu chains (b axis). The values of the g-factor …
We investigate spin diffusion in geometrically frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets. It is found that the diffusion constant gradually increases from its high temperature limit as the temperature approaches the peak temperature of the susceptibility. Below the peak, the exponential decrease in the susceptibility leads to a rapid increase in the rate of spin diffusion. Detailed results are presented for the pyrochlore lattice with nearest-neighbor interactions.
We study a two-dimensional frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the windmill lattice consisting of triangular and dual honeycomb lattice sites. In the classical ground state the spins on different sublattices are decoupled, but quantum and thermal fluctuations drive the system into a coplanar state via an "order from disorder" mechanism. We obtain the finite temperature phase diagram using renormalization group approaches. In the coplanar regime, the relative U$(1)$ phase between the spins on the two sublattices decouples from the remaining degrees of freedom, and is described by a six-sta…
Using both exact diagonalizations and diagonalizations in a subset of short-range valence bond singlets, we address the nature of the groundstate of the Heisenberg spin-1/2 antiferromagnet on the square lattice with competing next-nearest and next-next-nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic couplings (J1-J2-J3 model). A detailed comparison of the two approaches reveals a region along the line (J2+J3)/J1=1/2, where the description in terms of nearest-neighbor singlet coverings is excellent, therefore providing evidence for a magnetically disordered region. Furthermore a careful analysis of dimer-di…
We present an elaborate electron-spin resonance study of the low-energy dynamics and magnetization in the ordered phase of the magnetically frustrated spinel ZnCr$_2$O$_4$. We observe several resonance modes corresponding to different structural domains and found that the number of domains can be easily reduced by field-cooling the sample through the transition point. To describe the observed antiferromagnetic resonance spectra it is necessary to take into account an orthorhombic lattice distortion in addition to the earlier reported tetragonal distortion which both appear at the antiferromagn…
The antiferromagnetic Heisenberg two-leg ladder in the presence of frustration and an external magnetic field is a system that is characterized by two sorts of quantum criticalities, not only one. One criticality is the consequence of intrinsic frustration, and the other one is a result of the external magnetic field. So the behaviour of each of them in the presence of the other deserves to be studied. Using the Jordan-Wigner transformation in dimensions higher than one and bond-mean-field theory we examine the interplay between the field-induced and frustration-induced quantum criticalities i…
Our polycrystalline sample study on the Yb-based chalcogenide spinels $A$Yb$_2$$X_4$ ($A =$ Cd, Mg, $X =$ S, Se) has revealed frustrated magnetism due to the antiferromagnetically coupled Heisenberg spin on the pyrochlore lattice. Our crystal electric field analysis indicates the Yb ground state has nearly Heisenberg spins with a strong quantum character of the ground doublet. All the materials exhibit an antiferromagnetic order at 1.4-1.8 K, much lower temperature than the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling scale of $\sim 10$ K. The magnetic specific heat $C_{\rm M}$ shows a $T^{3}$ dependen…
The ground state phase diagram is determined for the frustrated classical Heisenberg chain with added nearest-neighbor biquadratic exchange interactions. There appear ferromagnetic, incommensurate-spiral, and up-up-down-down phases; a lock-in transition occurs at the spiral boundary. The model contains an isotropic version of the ANNNI model; it is also closely related to a model proposed for some manganites. The Luttinger-Tisza method is not obviously useful due to the non-linear weak-constraint problem; however the ground state is obtained analytically by the exact cluster method of Lyons an…
