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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Small clusters with anisotropic antiferromagnetic exchange in a magnetic field

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We consider small symmetric clusters of magnetic atoms (spins) with anisotropic exchange interaction between the atoms in a magnetic field at zero temperature. The inclusion of the anisotropy leads to a wealth of different phases as a function of the applied magnetic field. These are not phases in the thermodynamic sense with critical properties but rather physical structures with different arrangements of the spins and hence different symmetries. We study the spatial symmetry of these phases, for the classical and quantum cases. Results are presented mainly for three frustrated systems, the triangle, the tetrahedron and the five-atom ring, which have many interesting features. In the classical limit we obtain phase diagrams in which some of the phase changes occur because of energy crossings and others due to energy bifurcations, corresponding to 'first-' and 'second-order' changes. In the quantum case we show how the symmetries of the states are related to the corresponding classical symmetries.