Exact ground state and kink-like excitations of a two dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet

A rare example of a two dimensional Heisenberg model with an exact dimerized ground state is presented. This model, which can be regarded as a variation on the kagome lattice, has several features of interest: it has a highly (but not macroscopically) degenerate ground state; it is closely related to spin chains studied by earlier authors; in particular, it is probably the first genuinely two-dimensional quantum system to exhibit domain-wall-like ``kink'' excitations normally found only in one-dimensional systems. In some limits it decouples into non-interacting chains, purely dynamically and not because of weakening of interchain couplings: indeed, paradoxically, this happens in the limit of strong coupling of the chains.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 5 figures included via epsfi

Motion of Bound Domain Walls in a Spin Ladder

The elementary excitation spectrum of the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ antiferromagnetic (AFM) Heisenberg chain is described in terms of a pair of freely propagating spinons. In the case of the Ising-like Heisenberg Hamiltonian spinons can be interpreted as domain walls (DWs) separating degenerate ground states. In dimension $d>1$, the issue of spinons as elementary excitations is still unsettled. In this paper, we study two spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ AFM ladder models in which the individual chains are described by the Ising-like Heisenberg Hamiltonian. The rung exchange interactions are assumed to be pure Ising-type in one case and Ising-like Heisenberg in the other. Using the low-energy effective Hamiltonian approach in a perturbative formulation, we show that the spinons are coupled in bound pairs. In the first model, the bound pairs are delocalized due to a four-spin ring exchange term in the effective Hamiltonian. The appropriate dynamic structure factor is calculated and the associated lineshape is found to be almost symmetric in contrast to the 1d case. In the case of the second model, the bound pair of spinons lowers its kinetic energy by propagating between chains. The results obtained are consistent with recent theoretical studies and experimental observations on ladder-like materials.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Solution of a two-leg spin ladder system

A model for a spin-1/2 ladder system with two legs is introduced. It is demonstrated that this model is solvable via the Bethe ansatz method for arbitrary values of the rung coupling J. This is achieved by a suitable mapping from the Hubbard model with appropriate twisted boundary conditions. We determine that a phase transition between gapped and gapless spin excitations occurs at the critical value J(c) = 1/2 of the rung coupling

Crossover behavior of the J1-J2 model in a staggered magnetic field

The ground states of the $S=\frac12$ Heisenberg chain with the nearest-neighbor and the next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic couplings are numerically investigated in a staggered magnetic field. While the staggered magnetic field may induce the N\'eel-type excitation gap, and it is characterized by the Gaussian fixed point in the spin-fluid region, the crossover to the behavior controlled by the Ising fixed point is expected to be observed for the spontaneously dimerized state at finite field. Treating a low-lying excitation gap by the phenomenological renormalization-group method, we numerically determine the massless flow connecting the Gaussian and Ising fixed points. Further, to check the criticalities, we perform the finite-size-scaling analysis of the excitation gap.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Superconductivity from doping a spin liquid insulator: a simple one-dimensional example

We study the phase diagram of a one-dimensional Hubbard model where, in addition to the standard nearest neighbor hopping $t$, we also include a next-to-nearest neighbor hopping $t'$. For strong enough on-site repulsion, this model has a transition at half filling from a magnetic insulator with gapless spin excitations at small $t'/t$ to a dimerized insulator with a spin gap at larger $t'/t$. We show that upon doping this model exhibits quite interesting features, which include the presence of a metallic phase with a spin gap and dominant superconducting fluctuations, in spite of the repulsive interaction. More interestingly, we find that this superconducting phase can be reached upon hole doping the magnetic insulator. The connections between this model and the two chain models, recently object of intensive investigations, are also discussed.Comment: 19 pages, plain LaTex using RevTex, 7 postscript figures Modified version which excludes some LaTex commands giving problems for the previous versio

Line shapes of dynamical correlation functions in Heisenberg chains

We calculate line shapes of correlation functions by use of complete diagonalization data of finite chains and analytical implications from conformal field theory, density of states, and Bethe ansatz. The numerical data have different finite size accuracy in case of the imaginary and real parts in the frequency and time representations of spin-correlation functions, respectively. The low temperature, conformally invariant regime crosses over at $T^*\approx 0.7J$ to a diffusive regime that in turn connects continuously to the high temperature, interacting fermion regime. The first moment sum rule is determined.Comment: 13 pages REVTEX, 18 figure

Spectral properties of the dimerized and frustrated S=1/2S=1/2 chain

Spectral densities are calculated for the dimerized and frustrated S=1/2 chain using the method of continuous unitary transformations (CUTs). The transformation to an effective triplon model is realized in a perturbative fashion up to high orders about the limit of isolated dimers. An efficient description in terms of triplons (elementary triplets) is possible: a detailed analysis of the spectral densities is provided for strong and intermediate dimerization including the influence of frustration. Precise predictions are made for inelastic neutron scattering experiments probing the S=1 sector and for optical experiments (Raman scattering, infrared absorption) probing the S=0 sector. Bound states and resonances influence the important continua strongly. The comparison with the field theoretic results reveals that the sine-Gordon model describes the low-energy features for strong to intermediate dimerization only at critical frustration.Comment: 21 page

Decoupling of the S=1/2 antiferromagnetic zig-zag ladder with anisotropy

The spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic zig-zag ladder is studied by exact diagonalization of small systems in the regime of weak inter-chain coupling. A gapless phase with quasi long-range spiral correlations has been predicted to occur in this regime if easy-plane (XY) anisotropy is present. We find in general that the finite zig-zag ladder shows three phases: a gapless collinear phase, a dimer phase and a spiral phase. We study the level crossings of the spectrum,the dimer correlation function, the structure factor and the spin stiffness within these phases, as well as at the transition points. As the inter-chain coupling decreases we observe a transition in the anisotropic XY case from a phase with a gap to a gapless phase that is best described by two decoupled antiferromagnetic chains. The isotropic and the anisotropic XY cases are found to be qualitatively the same, however, in the regime of weak inter-chain coupling for the small systems studied here. We attribute this to a finite-size effect in the isotropic zig-zag case that results from exponentially diverging antiferromagnetic correlations in the weak-coupling limit.Comment: to appear in Physical Review

Rolling Tachyon in Brane World Cosmology from Superstring Field Theory

The pressureless tachyonic matter recently found in superstring field theory has an over-abundance problem in cosmology. We argue that this problem is naturally solved in the brane inflationary scenario if almost all of the tachyon energy is drained (via its coupling to the inflaton and matter fields) to heating the universe, while the rest of the tachyon energy goes to a network of cosmic strings (lower-dimensional BPS D-branes) produced during the tachyon rolling at the end of inflation.Comment: 4 pages, one figure. This version quantifies constraints on various phenomenological models for tachyon deca

Fractional S^z excitation and its bound state around the 1/3 plateau of the S=1/2 Ising-like zigzag XXZ chain

We present the microscopic view for the excitations around the 1/3 plateau state of the Ising-like zigzag XXZ chain. We analyze the low-energy excitations around the plateau with the degenerating perturbation theory from the Ising limit, combined with the Bethe-form wave function. We then find that the domain-wall particles carrying $S^z=\pm 1/3$ and its bound state of $S^z=\pm 2/3$ describe well the low-energy excitations around the 1/3 plateau state. The formation of the bound state of the domain-walls clearly provides the microscopic mechanism of the cusp singularities and the even-odd behavior in the magnetization curve.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figure