Anisotropy-induced spin parity effects

Abstract

Spin parity effects refer to those special situations where a dichotomy in the physical behavior of a system arises, solely depending on whether the relevant spin quantum number is integral or half-odd integral. As is the case with the Haldane conjecture in antiferromagnetic spin chains, their pursuit often derives deep insights and invokes new developments in quantum condensed matter physics. Here, we put forth a simple and general scheme for generating such effects in any spatial dimension through the use of anisotropic interactions, and a setup within reasonable reach of state-of-the-art cold-atom implementations. We demonstrate its utility through a detailed analysis of the magnetization behavior of a specific one-dimensional spin chain model, an anisotropic antiferromagnet in a transverse magnetic field, unraveling along the way the quantum origin of finite-size effects observed in the magnetization curve that had previously been noted but not clearly understood.