This thesis presents studies of the low energy properties of nseveral frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets using various analytic and computational methods. The models studied include the union jack model, the alternating Heisenberg chain, the Heisenberg bilayer model, and the spin-Peierls model. The union jack model is a Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin model with frustration, and is analyzed using spin-wave theory. For small values of the frustrating coupling $\alpha$, the system is N{\' e}el ordered, while for large $\alpha$ the frustration is found to induce a canted phase. Spin wave theory with second order corrections finds the critical coupling at $\alpha \simeq 0.645$,which agrees quantitatively with series expansion results. No intermediate spin-liquid phase is found to exist between the two phases. The alternating Heisenberg chain is studied using an alternative triplet-wave expansion formalism for dimerized spin systems, 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. Comparisons are made with the results of dimer series expansions and exact diagonalization. The S=1/2 Heisenberg bilayer spin model at zero temperature is studied in the dimerized phase using analytic triplet-wave expansions and dimer series expansions. The occurrence of two-triplon bound states in the S=0 and S=1 channels, and antibound states in the S=2 channel, is predicted with triplet-wave theory and confirmed by series expansions. All bound states are found to vanish at or before the critical coupling separating the dimerized phase from the N{\' e}el phase. The critical behavior of the total and single-particle static transverse structure factors is also studied by series expansion methods and found to conform with theoretical expectations. The Heisenberg spin-Peierls model with dispersive, gapless phonons is studied with Density Matrix Renormalization Group methods. We investigate the zero temperature properties of the model using the crossover method. The calculations were found to converge poorly and no conclusive results could be found using this method. An analysis of the convergence problems and the discovery of an anomalous triplet ground state is presented in this chapter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/258166 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Collins, Alexander Rory, Physics, Faculty of Science, UNSW |
| Publisher | Publisher:University of New South Wales. Physics |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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