Instability of isolated triplet excitations on the Shastry-Sutherland lattice (SSL)

Configurations of singlets and triplets on the SSL have been proposed in the literature as variational ground states of the Shastry-Sutherland model at fixed magnetization M. We prove, that isolated triplet excitations on the SSL are unstable if the coupling alpha falls below a critical value alpha_c=2.0 (approx.). The instability should be visible in the compound SrCu_2(BO_3)_2 where a coupling alpha^*=1.48 is realized.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTe

Far infrared study of the two dimensional dimer spin system SrCu_2(BO_3)_2

Using far-infrared spectroscopy in magnetic fields up to 12T we have studied a two-dimensional dimer spin gap system SrCu_2(BO_3)_2. We found several infrared active modes in the dimerized state (below 10K) in the frequency range from 3 to 100cm^-1. The measured splitting from the ground state to the excited triplet M_S=0 sublevel is Delta_1=24.2cm^-1 and the other two triplet state sublevels in zero magnetic field are 1.4cm^-1 below and above the M_S=0 sublevel. Another multiplet is at Delta_2=37.6cm^-1 from the ground state. A strong electric dipole active transition polarized in the (ab)-plane is activated in the dimer spin system below 15K at 52cm^-1.Comment: 4 pages including 5 figures, submitted to PRB, instrumental arte facts remove

Numerical Study of Excited States in the Shastry-Sutherland Model

We investigate excited states of the Shastry-Sutherland model using a kind of variational method. Starting from various trial states which include one or two triplet dimers, we numerically pursue the best evaluation of the energy for each set of quantum numbers. We present the energy difference as a function of either the coupling ratio or the momentum and compare them with the perturbative calculations. Our data suggest that the helical order phase exists between the singlet dimer phase and the magnetically ordered phase. In comparison with the experimental data we can estimate the intra-dimer coupling J and the inter-dimer coupling J' for SrCu2(BO3)2 : J'/J =0.65 and J = 87K.Comment: 15pages, 5figures to be published in JPS

Low-Lying Magnetic Excitation of the Shastry-Sutherland Model

By using perturbation calculation and numerical diagonalization, low-energy spin dynamics of the Shastry-Sutherland model is investigated paying particular attention to the two-particle coherent motion. In addition to spin-singlet- and triplet bound states, we find novel branches of coherent motion of a bound quintet pair, which are usually unstable because of repulsion. Unusual dispersion observed in neutron-scattering measurements are explained by the present theory. The importance of the effects of phonon is also pointed out.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures combined into 1 PSfile. Final version to appear in Phys.Rev.Lett. (Jan. 2000