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

Absence of overscreened Kondo effect in ferromagnetic host

We study the low temperature behavior of a boundary magnetic impurity S'=1/2 in an open ferromagnetic Takhatajian-Babujian spin-S chain. For antiferromagnetic Kondo coupling, it is show via Bethe ansatz solution that the impurity spin is always locked into the critical behavior the bulk. At low temperature, a local composite of spin S-1/2 forms near the impurity site and its contribution to specific heat is of simple power law T^{1/2}. The absence of overscreened Kondo effect is due to the large correlation length of host spins which is divergent near the quantum critical point.Comment: 4 pages. to appear in Phys. Rev. B1(R4A)(2000

Ghost spins and novel quantum critical behavior in a spin chain with local bond-deformation

We study the boundary impurity-induced critical behavior in an integrable SU(2)-invariant model consisting of an open Heisenberg chain of arbitrary spin-$S$ (Takhatajian-Babujian model) interacting with an impurity of spin $\vec{S'}$ located at one of the boundaries. For $S=1/2$ or $S'=1/2$, the impurity interaction has a very simple form $J\vec{S}_1\cdot\vec{S'}$ which describes the deformed boundary bond between the impurity $\vec{S'}$ and the first bulk spin $\vec{S}_1$ with an arbitrary strength $J$. With a weak coupling $0<J<J_0/[(S+S')^2-1/4]$, the impurity is completely compensated, undercompensated, and overcompensated for $S=S'$, $S>S'$ and $S<S'$ as in the usual Kondo problem. While for strong coupling $J\geq J_0/[(S+S')^2-1/4]$, the impurity spin is split into two ghost spins. Their cooperative effect leads to a variety of new critical behaviors with different values of $|S'-S|$.Comment: 16 pages revtex, no figur