5 research outputs found
Molecular-field approach to the spin-Peierls transition in CuGeO_3
We present a theory for the spin-Peierls transition in CuGeO_3. We map the
elementary excitations of the dimerized chain (solitons) on an effective Ising
model. Inter-chain coupling (or phonons) then introduce a linear binding
potential between a pair of soliton and anti-soliton, leading to a finite
transition temperature. We evaluate, as a function of temperature, the order
parameter, the singlet-triplet gap, the specific heat, and the susceptibility
and compare with experimental data on CuGeO_3. We find that CuGeO_3 is close to
a first-order phase transition. We point out, that the famous scaling law
\sim\delta^{2/3} of the triplet gap is a simple consequence of the linear
binding potential between pairs of solitons and anti-solitons in dimerized spin
chains.Comment: 7.1 pages, figures include