Ground-state phase diagram and universality of sequential topological valence-bond-solid quantum transitions in a mixed tetramer chain

J Phys Condens Matter. 2024 Jan 23;36(16). doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/ad1ca4.

Abstract

The ground-state ordering of a quantum mixed-spin Heisenberg tetramer chain composed of an alternate sequence ofs = 1 andS=3/2dimers is studied in detail as a function of two considered exchange interactions ascribed to similar and dissimilar spin pairs. At zero magnetic field, the ferrimagnetic mixed spin-(1, 1, 3/2, 3/2) Heisenberg tetramer chain displays, depending on a mutual interplay between two considered exchange interactions, three distinct gapped valence-bond-solid phases separated by gap-closing quantum critical points. Using density-matrix renormalization group calculations we construct the full ground-state phase diagram as a function of the interaction ratio and magnetic field, which exhibits besides three gapped valence-bond-solid phases special Kosterlitz-Thouless and topological quantum critical points. A tangential finite-size scaling analysis is employed to obtain precise estimates of the zero-field valence-bond-solid transitions and unveil their common logarithmic correction to a power-law scaling of the correlation length.

Keywords: mixed tetramer spin chain; quantum magnetism; scaling theory; topological transitions.