Magnetization Jump in the Magnetization Process of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnet on a Distorted Square-Kagome Lattice

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetization jump in a spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a distorted square-kagome lattice, revealing that small distortions enhance the jump and induce a spin-flop-like transition.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the magnetization jump is a macroscopic feature persisting in the thermodynamic limit and links microscopic spin reorientations to spin-flop phenomena.

Findings

Magnetization jump size increases with small lattice distortion.

The jump persists in the thermodynamic limit, confirming its macroscopic nature.

Spin reorientation during the jump resembles a spin-flop transition.

Abstract

We study the magnetization process of the spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a distorted square-kagome lattice by the numerical-diagonalization method. The magnetization jump at one-third of the height of the saturation is examined in detail; we find that the jump becomes larger when a small distortion is switched on and that it is accompanied by an abrupt change in lines along microscopic spin directions. Our finite-size results successfully confirm that the magnetization jump in a spin-isotropic system is a macroscopic jump that survives in the thermodynamic limit and that the changes in spin directions are common to a spin-flop phenomenon observed in spin-anisotropic systems.