Crossover from an incommensurate singlet spiral state with a vanishingly small spin gap to a valence-bond solid state in dimerized frustrated ferromagnetic spin chains

Abstract

Motivated by the magnetic properties of the spin-chain compounds LiCuSbO$_4$$\equiv$LiSbCuO$_4$ and Rb$_2$Cu$_2$Mo$_3$O$_{12}$, we study the ground state of the Heisenberg chain with dimerized nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic (FM)($J_1, J_1^\prime<0$) and next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic ($J_2>0$) couplings. Using the density-matrix renormalization group technique and spin-wave theory we find a first-order transition between a fully-polarized FM and an incommensurate spiral state at $2\alpha=\beta/(1+\beta)$, where $\alpha$ is the frustration ratio $J_2/|J_1|$ and $\beta$ the degree of dimerization $J_1^\prime/J_1$.In the singlet spiral state the spin-gap is vanishingly small in the vicinity of the FM transition, corresponding to a situation of LiCuSbO$_4$. For larger $\alpha$, corresponding to Rb$_2$Cu$_2$Mo$_3$O$_{12}$, and smaller $\beta$ there is a crossover from this frustration induced incommensurate state to an Affleck-Lieb-Kennedy-Tasaki-type valence bond solid state with substantial spin-gaps.