Unified Quantum Mechanical Picture for Confined Spinons in Dimerized and Frustrated Spin S=1/2 Chains

A quantum mechanical picture is presented to describe the behavior of confined spinons in a variety of S=1/2 chains. The confinement is due to dimerization and frustration and it manifests itselfas a nonlinear potential V(x)~ |x|^b, centered at chain ends (b <= 1) or produced by modulation kinks (b > 1). The calculation extends to weak or zero frustration some previous ideas valid for spinons in strongly frustrated spin chains. The local magnetization patterns of the confined spinons are calculated. A (minimum) enhancement of the local moments of about 11/3 over a single S=1/2 is found. Estimates for excitation energies and binding lengths are obtained.Comment: 11.5 pages, Revtex, 10 figures included, accepted by Euro. Phys. J. B final version including some changes, several references adde

Local Enhancement of Antiferromagnetic Correlations by Nonmagnetic Impurities

The local enhancement of antiferromagnetic correlations near vacancies observed in a variety of spin systems is analyzed in a single framework. Variational calculations suggest that the resonating-valence-bond character of the spin correlations at short distances is responsible for the enhancement. Numerical results for uniform spin chains, with and without frustration, dimerized chains, ladders, and two dimensional clusters are in agreement with our conjecture. This short distance phenomenon occurs independently of the long distance behavior of the spin correlations in the undoped system. Experimental predictions for a variety of compounds are briefly discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 ps figures in the text, to appear on Phys. Rev. Lett. (received on 10/16/96

Doping effects in low dimensional antiferromagnets

The study of impurities in low dimensional antiferromagnets has been a very active field in magnetism ever since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity. One of the most dramatic effects is the appearance of large Knight shifts in a long range around non-magnetic impurities in an antiferromagnetic background. The dependence of the Knight shifts on distance and temperature visualizes the correlations in the system. In this work we present the results for Knight shifts around a single vacancy in the one and two dimensional Heisenberg model.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures. The latest version can be found at http://www.physik.uni-kl.de/eggert/papers/law3m.pd

The antiferromagnetic order in an F-AF random alternating quantum spin chain : (CH_3)_2 CHNH_3 Cu(Cl_x Br_{1-x})_3

A possibility of the uniform antiferromagnetic order is pointed out in an S=1/2 ferromagnetic (F) - antiferromagnetic (AF) random alternating Heisenberg quantum spin chain compound: (CH_3)_2 CHNH_3 Cu(Cl_x Br_{1-x})_3. The system possesses the bond alternation of strong random bonds that take +/- 2J and weak uniform AF bonds of -J. In the pure concentration limits, the model reduces to the AF-AF alternation chain at x=0 and to the F-AF alternation chain at x=1. The nonequilibrium relaxation of large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations exhibits critical behaviors of the uniform AF order in the intermediate concentration region, which explains the experimental observation of the magnetic phase transition. The present results suggest that the uniform AF order may survive even in the presence of the randomly located ferromagnetic bonds.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Possible Localized Modes in the Uniform Quantum Heisenberg Chains of Sr2CuO3

A model of mobile-bond defects is tentatively proposed to analyze the "anomalies" observed on the NMR spectrum of the quantum Heisenberg chains of Sr2CuO3. A bond-defect is a local change in the exchange coupling. It results in a local alternating magnetization (LAM), which when the defect moves, creates a flipping process of the local field seen by each nuclear spin. At low temperature, when the overlap of the LAM becomes large, the defects form a periodic structure, which extends over almost all the chains. In that regime, the density of bond-defects decreases linearly with T.Comment: 4 pages + 3 figures. To appear in Physical Review

Impurity-induced spin polarization and NMR line broadening in underdoped cuprates

We present a theory of magnetic (S=1) Ni and nonmagnetic Zn impurities in underdoped cuprates. Both types of impurities are shown to induce S=1/2 moments on Cu sites in the proximity of the impurity, a process which is intimately related to the spin gap phenomenon in cuprates. Below a characteristic Kondo temperature, the Ni spin is partially screened by the Cu moments, resulting in an effective impurity spin S=1/2. We further analyze the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasiya-Yosida-type response of planar Cu spins to a polarization of the effective impurity moments and derive expressions for the corresponding ^{17}O NMR line broadening. The peculiar aspects of recent experimental NMR data can be traced back to different spatial characteristics of Ni and Zn moments as well as to an inherent temperature dependence of local antiferromagnetic correlations.Comment: PRB B1 01June9

Localization length of a soliton from a non-magnetic impurity in a general double-spin-chain model

A localization length of a free-spin soliton from a non-magnetic impurity is deduced in a general double-spin-chain model ($J_0-J_1-J_2-J_3$ model). We have solved a variational problem which employs the nearest-neighbor singlet-dimer basis. The wave function of a soliton is expressed by the Airy function, and the localization length $(\xi)$ is found to obey a power law of the dimerization $(J_2-J_3)$ with an exponent -1/3; $\xi\sim (J_2-J_3)^{-1/3}$. This explains why NaV_2O_5 does not show the antiferromagnetic order, while CuGeO_3 does by impurity doping. When the gap exists by the bond-dimerization, a soliton is localized and no order is expected. Contrary, there is a possibility of the order when the gap is mainly due to frustration.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, Figures are in eps-file

Excitation Spectra and Thermodynamic Response of Segmented Heisenberg Spin Chains

The spectral and thermodynamic response of segmented quantum spin chains is analyzed using a combination of numerical techniques and finite-size scaling arguments. Various distributions of segment lengths are considered, including the two extreme cases of quenched and annealed averages. As the impurity concentration is increased, it is found that (i) the integrated spectral weight is rapidly reduced, (ii) a pseudo-gap feature opens up at small frequencies, and (iii) at larger frequencies a discrete peak structure emerges, dominated by the contributions of the smallest cluster segments. The corresponding low-temperature thermodynamic response has a divergent contribution due to the odd-site clusters and a sub-dominant exponentially activated component due to the even-site segments whose finite-size gap is responsible for the spectral weight suppression at small frequencies. Based on simple scaling arguments, approximate low-temperature expressions are derived for the uniform susceptibility and the heat capacity. These are shown to be in good agreement with numerical solutions of the Bethe ansatz equations for ensembles of open-end chains.Comment: RevTex, 9 pages with 6 figure

Local magnetic structure due to inhomogeneity of interaction in S=1/2 antiferromagnetic chain

We study the magnetic properties of $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains with inhomogeneity of interaction. Using a quantum Monte Carlo method and an exact diagonalization method, we study bond-impurity effect in the uniform $S=1/2$ chain and also in the bond-alternating chain. Here `bond impurity' means a bond with strength different from those in the bulk or a defect in the alternating order. Local magnetic structures induced by bond impurities are investigated both in the ground state and at finite temperatures, calculating the local magnetization, the local susceptibility and the local field susceptibility. We also investigate the force acting between bond impurities and find the force generally attractive.Comment: 15pages, 34figure

Order by disorder from non-magnetic impurities in a two-dimensional quantum spin liquid

We consider doping of non-magnetic impurities in the spin-1/2, 1/5-depleted square lattice. This structure, whose undoped phase diagram offers both magnetically ordered and spin-liquid ground states, is realized physically in CaV_4O_9. Doping into the ordered phase results in a progressive loss of order, which becomes complete at the percolation threshold. By contrast, non-magnetic impurities introduced in the spin liquids create a phase of weak but long-ranged antiferromagnetic order coexisting with the gapped state. The latter may be viewed as a true order-by-disorder phenomenon. We study the phase diagram of the doped system by computing the static susceptibility and staggered magnetization using a stochastic series-expansion quantum Monte Carlo technique.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure