Emergent multipolar spin correlations in a fluctuating spiral - The frustrated ferromagnetic S=1/2 Heisenberg chain in a magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper maps out the complex phase diagram of a frustrated ferromagnetic S=1/2 Heisenberg chain in a magnetic field, revealing emergent multipolar spin correlations and phase transitions through advanced numerical simulations.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale numerical evidence for a locking mechanism driving spiral states into spin-multipolar phases in a one-dimensional quantum magnet.

Findings

Identification of vector chiral order and metamagnetic behavior.

Discovery of a sequence of spin-multipolar Luttinger liquid phases up to hexadecupolar.

Numerical evidence for a locking mechanism towards multipolar phases.

Abstract

We present the phase diagram of the frustrated ferromagnetic S=1/2 Heisenberg J_1-J_2 chain in a magnetic field, obtained by large scale exact diagonalizations and density matrix renormalization group simulations. A vector chirally ordered state, metamagnetic behavior and a sequence of spin-multipolar Luttinger liquid phases up to hexadecupolar kind are found. We provide numerical evidence for a locking mechanism, which can drive spiral states towards spin-multipolar phases, such as quadrupolar or octupolar phases. Our results also shed light on previously discovered spin-multipolar phases in two-dimensional $S=1/2$ quantum magnets in a magnetic field.