Monte Carlo Study of Correlations in Quantum Spin Chains at Non-Zero Temperature

Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chains with various spin values ($S=1/2,1,3/2,2,5/2$) are studied numerically with the quantum Monte Carlo method. Effective spin $S$ chains are realized by ferromagnetically coupling $n=2S$ antiferromagnetic spin chains with $S=1/2$. The temperature dependence of the uniform susceptibility, the staggered susceptibility, and the static structure factor peak intensity are computed down to very low temperatures, $T/J \approx 0.01$. The correlation length at each temperature is deduced from numerical measurements of the instantaneous spin-spin correlation function. At high temperatures, very good agreement with exact results for the classical spin chain is obtained independent of the value of $S$. For $S$=2 chains which have a gap $\Delta$, the correlation length and the uniform susceptibility in the temperature range $\Delta < T < J$ are well predicted by a semi-classical theory due to Damle and Sachdev.Comment: LaTeX EPJ macr

Dynamical Spin Response Functions for Heisenberg Ladders

We present the results of a numerical study of the 2 by L spin 1/2 Heisenberg ladder. Ground state energies and the singlet-triplet energy gaps for L = (4-14) and equal rung and leg interaction strengths were obtained in a Lanczos calculation and checked against earlier calculations by Barnes et al. (even L up to 12). A related moments technique is then employed to evaluate the dynamical spin response for L=12 and a range of rung to leg interaction strength ratios (0 - 5). We comment on two issues, the need for reorthogonalization and the rate of convergence, that affect the numerical utility of the moments treatment of response functions.Comment: Revtex, 3 figure

The Square-Lattice Heisenberg Antiferromagnet at Very Large Correlation Lengths

The correlation length of the square-lattice spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet is studied in the low-temperature (asymptotic-scaling) regime. Our novel approach combines a very efficient loop cluster algorithm -- operating directly in the Euclidean time continuum -- with finite-size scaling. This enables us to probe correlation lengths up to $\xi \approx 350,000$ lattice spacings -- more than three orders of magnitude larger than any previous study. We resolve a conundrum concerning the applicability of asymptotic-scaling formulae to experimentally- and numerically-determined correlation lengths, and arrive at a very precise determination of the low-energy observables. Our results have direct implications for the zero-temperature behavior of spin-1/2 ladders.Comment: 12 pages, RevTeX, plus two Postscript figures. Some minor modifications for final submission to Physical Review Letters. (accepted by PRL

Spin Correlations in the Two-Dimensional Spin-5/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnet Rb2MnF4

We report a neutron scattering study of the instantaneous spin correlations in the two-dimensional spin S=5/2 square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet Rb_2MnF_4. The measured correlation lengths are quantitatively described, with no adjustable parameters, by high-temperature series expansion results and by a theory based on the quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation. Conversely, we find that the data, which cover the range from about 1 to 50 lattice constants, are outside of the regime corresponding to renormalized classical behavior of the quantum non-linear sigma model. In addition, we observe a crossover from Heisenberg to Ising critical behavior near the Neel temperature; this crossover is well described by a mean-field model with no adjustable parameters.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, with 6 included EPS figures, submitted to EPJ

Single reconstructed Fermi surface pocket in an underdoped single layer cuprate superconductor

The observation of a reconstructed Fermi surface via quantum oscillations in hole-doped cuprates opened a path towards identifying broken symmetry states in the pseudogap regime. However, such an identification has remained inconclusive due to the multi-frequency quantum oscillation spectra and complications accounting for bilayer effects in most studies. We overcome these impediments with high resolution measurements on the structurally simpler cuprate HgBa2CuO4+d (Hg1201), which features one CuO2 plane per unit cell. We find only a single oscillatory component with no signatures of magnetic breakdown tunneling to additional orbits. Therefore, the Fermi surface comprises a single quasi-two-dimensional pocket. Quantitative modeling of these results indicates that biaxial charge-density-wave within each CuO2 plane is responsible for the reconstruction, and rules out criss-crossed charge stripes between layers as a viable alternative in Hg1201. Lastly, we determine that the characteristic gap between reconstructed pockets is a significant fraction of the pseudogap energy

Correlation Lengths in Quantum Spin Ladders

Analytic expressions for the correlation length temperature dependences are given for antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg ladders using a finite-size non-linear sigma-model approach. These calculations rely on identifying three successive crossover regimes as a function of temperature. In each of these regimes, precise and controlled approximations are formulated. The analytical results are found to be in excellent agreement with Monte Carlo simulations for the Heisenberg Hamiltonian.Comment: 5 pages LaTeX using RevTeX, 3 encapsulated postscript figure

Spin Dependence of Correlations in Two-Dimensional Quantum Heisenberg Antiferromagnets

We present a series expansion study of spin-S square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnets. The numerical data are in excellent agreement with recent neutron scattering measurements. Our key result is that the correlation length for S>1/2 strongly deviates from the exact T->0 (renormalized classical, or RC) scaling prediction for all experimentally and numerically accessible temperatures. We note basic trends with S of the experimental and series expansion correlation length data and propose a scaling crossover scenario to explain them.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX file. PostScript file for the paper with embedded figures available via WWW at http://xxx.lanl.gov/ps/cond-mat/9503143

Dimensional Crossover in Quantum Antiferromagnets

The dimensional crossover in a spin-$S$ nearest neighbor Heisenberg antiferromagnet is discussed as it is tuned from a two-dimensional square lattice, of lattice spacing $a$, towards a spin chain by varying the width $L_y$ of a semi-infinite strip $L_x\times L_y$. For integer spins and arbitrary $L_y$, and for half integer spins with $L_y/a$ an arbitrary even integer, explicit analytical expressions for the zero temperature correlation length and the spin gap are given. For half integer spins and $L_y/a$ an odd inetger, it is shown that the $c=1$ behavior of the $SU(2)_1$ WZW fixed point is squeezed out as the width $L_y\to \infty$; here $c$ is the conformal charge. The results specialized to $S=1/2$ are relevant to spin-ladder systems.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 1 embedded postscript figur

Two Ising-like magnetic excitations in a single-layer cuprate superconductor

There exists increasing evidence that the phase diagram of the high-transition temperature (Tc) cuprate superconductors is controlled by a quantum critical point. One distinct theoretical proposal is that, with decreasing hole-carrier concentration, a transition occurs to an ordered state with two circulating orbital currents per CuO2 square. Below the 'pseudogap' temperature T* (T* > Tc), the theory predicts a discrete order parameter and two weakly-dispersive magnetic excitations in structurally simple compounds that should be measurable by neutron scattering. Indeed, novel magnetic order and one such excitation were recently observed. Here, we demonstrate for tetragonal HgBa2CuO4+d the existence of a second excitation with local character, consistent with the theory. The excitations mix with conventional antiferromagnetic fluctuations, which points toward a unifying picture of magnetism in the cuprates that will likely require a multi-band description.Comment: Including supplementary informatio