Gapless to gapless phase transitions in quantum spin chains

Abstract

We investigate spin chains with bilinear-biquadratic (BLBQ) spin interactions as a function of an applied magnetic field $h$. At the Uimin-Lai-Sutherland (ULS) critical point we find a gapless to gapless transition revealed by the dynamical structure factor $S(q,\ensuremath{\omega})$ as a function of $h$. At $h=0$, the envelope of the lowest-energy excitations goes soft at two points, ${q}_{1}=2\ensuremath{\pi}/3$ and ${q}_{2}=4\ensuremath{\pi}/3$, dubbed the phase A. With increasing field, the spectral peaks at each of the gapless points bifurcate, making in total four soft modes, and combine to form a new set of excitations that soften at a single point $q=\ensuremath{\pi}$ at ${h}_{c1}\ensuremath{\approx}0.94$. Beyond ${h}_{c1}$ the system enters another gapless B phase until the transition at ${h}_{c2}=4$ to the fully polarized phase. We compare the ULS model results with those for the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki model as a representative of the gapped Haldane phase. We explain the mechanism of the gapless to gapless transition in the ULS model using its conserved charges and a spinon band picture. We also discuss the universality of central charges of the BLBQ family of models subjected to a magnetic field.