Dilution Effects on Ordering in the ${S=1/2}$ Heisenberg Antiferromagnet on the Square Lattice

TL;DR

This study uses Quantum Monte Carlo simulations to analyze how non-magnetic impurities affect the magnetic order in the $S=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice, revealing a significant reduction in order at impurity levels below classical percolation thresholds.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed quantum Monte Carlo analysis of impurity effects on magnetic order in the $S=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice.

Findings

Staggered magnetization decreases with impurity concentration.

Correlation length behavior remains similar to the pure case at low doping.

Magnetic order vanishes around 35% impurity concentration.

Abstract

The influence of dilution with non--magnetic impurities on the order in the ground state of the $S=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet is investigated by Quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Data of the spin correlation functions and thermodynamic properties for system sizes up to $L\times L=16\times16$ and for impurity concentrations up to $\delta=37.5\%$ are presented. In the low doping regime the correlation length shows similiar dependence on temperature as in the pure case. The staggered magnetization $\langle N_z^2(\delta)\rangle$ in the ground state which is the order parameter of the present model is estimated by extrapolating data at low temperatures. Impurity concentration dependence of $\langle N_z^2(\delta)\rangle$ is presented. $\langle N_z^2(\delta)\rangle$ decreases monotonically with impurity concentration and becomes very small around $\delta_c \sim 0.35$ which is much smaller than the classical percolation threshold.