The effect of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions on the phase diagram and magnetic excitations of SrCu2(BO3)2

The orthogonal dimer structure in the SrCu2(BO3)2 spin-1/2 magnet provides a realization of the Shastry-Sutherland model. Using a dimer-product variational wave function, we map out the phase diagram of the Shastry-Sutherland model including anisotropies. Based on the variational solution, we construct a bond-wave approach to obtain the excitation spectra as a function of magnetic field. The characteristic features of the experimentally measured neutron and ESR spectra are reproduced, like the anisotropy induced zero field splittings and the persistent gap at higher fields.Comment: 20 pages,15 figure

Semiclassical Approach to Competing Orders in Two-leg Spin Ladder with Ring-Exchange

We investigate the competition between different orders in the two-leg spin ladder with a ring-exchange interaction by means of a bosonic approach. The latter is defined in terms of spin-1 hardcore bosons which treat the N\'eel and vector chirality order parameters on an equal footing. A semiclassical approach of the resulting model describes the phases of the two-leg spin ladder with a ring-exchange. In particular, we derive the low-energy effective actions which govern the physical properties of the rung-singlet and dominant vector chirality phases. As a by-product of our approach, we reveal the mutual induction phenomenon between spin and chirality with, for instance, the emergence of a vector-chirality phase from the application of a magnetic field in bilayer systems coupled by four-spin exchange interactions.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

Low-lying excitations and magnetization process of coupled tetrahedral systems

We investigate low-lying singlet and triplet excitations and the magnetization process of quasi-1D spin systems composed of tetrahedral spin clusters. For a class of such models, we found various exact low-lying excitations; some of them are responsible for the first-order transition between two different ground states formed by local singlets. Moreover, we find that there are two different kinds of magnetization plateaus which are separated by a first-order transition.Comment: To appear in Phys.Rev.B (Issue 01 August 2002). A short comment is adde

Doping-dependent magnetization plateaux in p-merized Hubbard chains

We study zero-temperature Hubbard chains with periodically modulated hopping at arbitrary filling n and magnetization m. We show that the magnetization curves have plateaux at certain values of m which depend on the periodicity p and the filling. At commensurate filling n a charge gap opens and then magnetization plateaux correspond to fully gapped situations. However, plateaux also arise in the magnetization curves at fixed n between the commensurate values and then the plateau-value of of m depends continuously on n and can thus also become irrational. In particular for the case of dimerized hopping (p=2) and fixed doping we find that a plateau appears at m=1-n. In this case, there is still a gapless mode on the plateau leading to thermodynamic behavior which is different from a completely gapped situation.Comment: 9 pages REVTeX, 3 PostScript figures included using psfig.sty; this is the final version to appear in Phys. Lett. A; substantial changes: Lanczos part removed to gain space for further explanations (refer to original version for details on the numerics

Attenuation of ischemic liver injury by prostaglandin E<inf>1</inf> analogue, misoprostol, and prostaglandin I<inf>2</inf> analogue, OP-41483

Background: Prostaglandin has been reported to have protective effects against liver injury. Use of this agent in clinical settings, however, is limited because of drugrelated side effects. This study investigated whether misoprostol, prostaglandin E1 analogue, and OP-41483, prostaglandin I2 analogue, which have fewer adverse effects with a longer half-life, attenuate ischemic liver damage. Study Design: Thirty beagle dogs underwent 2 hours of hepatic vascular exclusion using venovenous bypass. Misoprostol was administered intravenously for 30 minutes before ischemia and for 3 hours after reperfusion. OP-41483 was administered intraportally for 30 minutes before ischemia (2 μg/kg/min) and for 3 hours after reperfusion (0.5 μg/kg/min). Animals were divided into five groups: untreated control group (n = 10); high-dose misoprostol (total 100 μg/kg) group (MP-H, n = 5); middle-dose misoprostol (50 μg/kg) group (MP-M, n = 5); low-dose misoprostol (25 μg/kg) group (MP-L, n = 5); and OP-41483 group (OP, n = 5). Animal survival, hepatic tissue blood flow (HTBF), liver function, and histology were analyzed. Results: Two-week animal survival rates were 30% in control, 60% in MP-H, 100% in MP-M, 80% in MP-L, and 100% in OP. The treatments with prostaglandin analogues improved HTBF, and attenuated liver enzyme release, adenine nucleotrides degradation, and histologic abnormalities. In contrast to the MP-H animals that exhibited unstable cardiovascular systems, the MP- M, MP-L, and OP animals experienced only transient hypotension. Conclusions: These results indicate that misoprostol and OP-41483 prevent ischemic liver damage, although careful dose adjustment of misoprostol is required to obtain the best protection with minimal side effects

Magnetization Curves of Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg Spin-1/2 Ladders

Magnetization processes of spin-1/2 Heisenberg ladders are studied using strong-coupling expansions, numerical diagonalization of finite systems and a bosonization approach. We find that the magnetization exhibits plateaux as a function of the applied field at certain rational fractions of the saturation value. Our main focus are ladders with 3 legs where plateaux with magnetization one third of the saturation value are shown to exist.Comment: 5 pages REVTeX, 4 PostScript figures included using psfig.sty; this is the final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Magnetization plateaus in antiferromagnetic-(ferromagnetic)_{n} polymerized S=1/2 XXZ chains

The plateau-non-plateau transition in the antiferromagnetic-(ferromagnetic)$_{n}$ polymerized $S=1/2$ XXZ chains under the magnetic field is investigated. The universality class of this transition belongs to the Brezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) type. The critical points are determined by level spectroscopy analysis of the numerical diagonalization data for $4 \leq p \leq 13$ where $p(\equiv n+1)$ is the size of a unit cell. It is found that the critical strength of ferromagnetic coupling decreases with $p$ for small $p$ but increases for larger enough $p$. It is also found that the plateau for large $p$ is wide enough for moderate values of exchange coupling so that it should be easily observed experimentally. This is in contrast to the plateaus for $p = 3$ chains which are narrow for a wide range of exchange coupling even away from the critical point

A Strong-Coupling Approach to the Magnetization Process of Polymerized Quantum Spin Chains

Polymerized quantum spin chains (i.e. spin chains with a periodic modulation of the coupling constants) exhibit plateaux in their magnetization curves when subjected to homogeneous external magnetic fields. We argue that the strong-coupling limit yields a simple but general explanation for the appearance of plateaux as well as of the associated quantization condition on the magnetization. We then proceed to explicitly compute series for the plateau boundaries of trimerized and quadrumerized spin-1/2 chains. The picture is completed by a discussion how the universality classes associated to the transitions at the boundaries of magnetization plateaux arise in many cases from a first order strong-coupling effective Hamiltonian.Comment: 5 pages REVTeX, three PostScript figures included using psfig.st

Maximized string order parameters in the valence bond solid states of quantum integer spin chains

We propose a set of maximized string order parameters to describe the hidden topological order in the valence bond solid states of quantum integer spin-S chains. These optimized string order parameters involve spin-twist angles corresponding to $Z_{S+1}$ rotations around $z$ or $x$-axes, suggesting a hidden $Z_{S+1}\times Z_{S+1}$ symmetry. Our results also suggest that a local triplet excitation in the valence bond solid states carries a $Z_{S+1}$ topological charge measured by these maximized string order parameters.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Attenuation of ischemic liver injury by monoclonal anti-endothelin antibody, awETN40

Background: Enhanced production of endothelin-1 (ET1), vasoconstrictive 21 amino acids produced by endothelial cells during ischemia and after reperfusion of the liver, is known to cause sinusoidal constriction and microcirculatory disturbances, which lead to severe tissue damage. Using a 2- hour hepatic vascular exclusion model in dogs, we tested our hypothesis that neutralization of ET-1 by monoclonal anti-ET-1 and anti-ET-2 antibody (AwETN40) abates vascular dysfunction and ameliorates ischemia/reperfusion injury of the liver. Study Design: After skeletonization, the liver was made totally ischemic by cross-clamping the portal vein, the hepatic artery, and the vena cava (above and below the liver). Venovenous bypass was used to decompress splanchnic and inferior systemic congestion. AwETN40, 5 mg/kg, was administered intravenously 10 minutes before ischemia (treatment group, n = 5). Nontreated animals were used as controls (control group, n = 10). Animal survival, hepatic tissue blood flow, liver function tests; total bile acid, high-energy phosphate, ET-1 levels, and liver histopathology were studied. Results: Treatment with AwETN40 improved 2-week animal survival from 30% to 100%. Hepatic tissue blood flow after reperfusion was significantly higher in the treatment group. The treatment significantly attenuated liver enzyme release, total bile acid, and changes in adenine nucleotides. Immunoreactive ET-1 levels in the hepatic venous blood of the control group showed a significant increase and remained high for up to 24 hours after reperfusion. Histopathologic alterations were significantly lessened in the treatment group. Conclusions: These results indicate that ET-1 is involved in ischemia/reperfusion injury of the liver, which can be ameliorated by the monoclonal anti-ET-1 and antiET-2 antibody AwETN40