An alternative triplet-wave expansion formalism for dimerized spin systems is
presented, a modification of the 'bond operator' formalism of Sachdev and
Bhatt. Projection operators are used to confine the system to the physical
subspace, rather than constraint equations. The method is illustrated for the
case of the alternating Heisenberg chain, and comparisons are made with the
results of dimer series expansions and exact diagonalization. Some discussion
is included of the phenomenon of 'quasiparticle breakdown', as it applies to
the two-triplon bound states in this model.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure