Exactly solvable quantum spin model with alternating and multiple spin exchange interactions

Abstract

We propose an exactly solvable quantum spin model, in which the alternation of the exchange interactions between neighboring spins is accompanied by the multiple spin exchange. The model permits us to obtain exactly thermodynamic characteristics of the considered quantum spin chain. In the ground state, depending on the strength of the three-spin coupling, the model manifests either the spin-gapped behavior of low-lying excitations at low magnetic fields, or the ferrimagnetic ordering with the spontaneous magnetization and with gapless low-lying excitations. The system undergoes second order or first order quantum phase transitions, governed by an external magnetic field and the multiple spin exchange coupling strength. Our exactly solvable quantum spin model demonstrates that multispin interactions in a dimerized quantum spin chain can produce a spontaneous magnetization. On the other hand, for quantum spin chains with a spontaneous magnetization, caused by multispin couplings, the alternation of nearest neighbor exchange interactions can be the reason for destroying of that magnetization and the onset of a spin gap for low-lying excitations.