An Exactly Solvable Model of Generalized Spin Ladder

A detailed study of an $S={1\over2}$ spin ladder model is given. The ladder consists of plaquettes formed by nearest neighbor rungs with all possible SU(2)-invariant interactions. For properly chosen coupling constants, the model is shown to be integrable in the sense that the quantum Yang-Baxter equation holds and one has an infinite number of conserved quantities. The R-matrix and L-operator associated with the model Hamiltonian are given in a limiting case. It is shown that after a simple transformation, the model can be solved via a Bethe ansatz. The phase diagram of the ground state is exactly derived using the Bethe ansatz equation

On the dynamics of coupled S=1/2 antiferromagnetic zig-zag chains

We investigate the elementary excitations of quasi one-dimensional S=1/2 systems built up from zig-zag chains with general isotropic exchange constants, using exact (Lanczos) diagonalization for 24 spins and series expansions starting from the decoupled dimer limit. For the ideal one-dimensional zig-zag chain we discuss the systematic variation of the basic (magnon) triplet excitation with general exchange parameters and in particular the presence of practically flat dispersions in certain regions of phase space. We extend the dimer expansion in order to include the effects of 3D interactions on the spectra of weakly interacting zig-zag chains. In an application to KCuCl_3 we show that this approach allows to determine the exchange interactions between individual pairs of spins from the spectra as determined in recent neutron scattering experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures; some changes, figure added; final versio

International workshop AWA-PREFACE : "Socio economic impact of climate change in West Africa : insight from modeling and questionnaires" [résumés]

International audienc

Weakly supervised causal representation learning

Learning high-level causal representations together with a causal model from unstructured low-level data such as pixels is impossible from observational data alone. We prove under mild assumptions that this representation is however identifiable in a weakly supervised setting. This involves a dataset with paired samples before and after random, unknown interventions, but no further labels. We then introduce implicit latent causal models, variational autoencoders that represent causal variables and causal structure without having to optimize an explicit discrete graph structure. On simple image data, including a novel dataset of simulated robotic manipulation, we demonstrate that such models can reliably identify the causal structure and disentangle causal variables

Quantum phase transitions in the exactly solved spin-1/2 Heisenberg-Ising ladder

Ground-state behaviour of the frustrated quantum spin-1/2 two-leg ladder with the Heisenberg intra-rung and Ising inter-rung interactions is examined in detail. The investigated model is transformed to the quantum Ising chain with composite spins in an effective transverse and longitudinal field by employing either the bond-state representation or the unitary transformation. It is shown that the ground state of the Heisenberg-Ising ladder can be descended from three exactly solvable models: the quantum Ising chain in a transverse field, the 'classical' Ising chain in a longitudinal field or the spin-chain model in a staggered longitudinal-transverse field. The last model serves in evidence of the staggered bond phase with alternating singlet and triplet bonds on the rungs of two-leg ladder, which appears at moderate values of the external magnetic field and consequently leads to a fractional plateau at a half of the saturation magnetization. The ground-state phase diagram totally consists of five ordered and one quantum disordered phase, which are separated from each other either by the lines of discontinuous or continuous quantum phase transitions. The order parameters are exactly calculated for all five ordered phases and the quantum disordered phase is characterized through different short-range spin-spin correlations.Comment: corrected version, figure A1 has been changed, accepted in J. Phys. A, 19 pages, 7 figure

Low Temperature Properties of Quantum Antiferromagnetic Chains with Alternating Spins S=1 and 1/2

We study the low-temperature properties of S=1 and 1/2 alternating spin chains with antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange couplings using analytical techniques as well as a quantum Monte Carlo method. The spin-wave approach predicts two different low-lying excitations, which are gapped and gapless, respectively. The structure of low-lying levels is also discussed by perturbation theory in the strength of the Ising anisotropy. These analytical findings are compared with the results of quantum Monte Carlo calculations and it turns out that spin-wave theory well describes the present system. We conclude that the quantum ferrimagnetic chain exhibits both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic aspects.Comment: 13 pages, RevTeX, six figures, submitted to J. Phys. Cond. Ma

Thermodynamics of the (1,1/2) Ferrimagnet in Finite Magnetic Fields

We investigate the specific heat and magnetisation of a ferrimagnet with gS=1 and S=1/2 spins in a finite magnetic field using the transfer matrix DMRG down to T=0.025J. Ferromagnetic gapless and antiferromagnetic gapped excitations for H=0 lead to rich thermodynamics for H > 0. While the specific heat is characterized by a generic double peak structure, magnetisation reveals two critical fields, Hc1=1.76(1) and Hc2=3.00(1) with square-root behaviour in the T=0 magnetisation. Simple analytical arguments allow to understand these experimentally accessible findings.Comment: 5 pages, 7 eps figures, uses RevTeX, submitted to PR

Spin-dependent resonant tunneling through semimetallic ErAs quantum wells

Resonant tunneling through semimetallic ErAs quantum wells embedded in GaAs structures with AlAs barriers was recently found to exhibit an intriguing behavior in magnetic fields which is explained in terms of tunneling selection rules and the spin-polarized band structure including spin-orbit coupling.Comment: 4 pages, figures supplied as self-unpacking figures.uu, uses epsfig.sty to incorporate figures in preprin