Field-induced quantum criticality and universal temperature dependence of the magnetization of a spin-1/2 heisenberg chain.

Abstract

High-precision dc magnetization measurements have been made on Cu(C4H4N2) (NO3)2 in magnetic fields up to 14.7 T, slightly above the saturation field Hs=13.97 T, in the temperature range from 0.08 to 15 K. The magnetization curve and differential susceptibility at the lowest temperature show excellent agreement with exact theoretical results for the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet in one dimension. A broad peak is observed in magnetization measured as a function of temperature, signaling a crossover to a low-temperature Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid regime. With an increasing field, the peak moves gradually to lower temperatures, compressing the regime, and, at Hs, the magnetization exhibits a strong upturn. This quantum critical behavior of the magnetization and that of the specific heat withstand quantitative tests against theory, demonstrating that the material is a practically perfect one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet.