We study a one-dimensional antiferromagnetic-elastic model with magnetic ions having spin S = 3/2. By extensive density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) computations and complementary analytical methods, we uncover a first-order transition from a homogeneous or weakly dimerized phase (a situation that could be similar to the well-known S = 1/2 spin-Peierls effect) to a highly distorted phase, driven by the spin-phonon coupling lambda. The striking characteristic of the second phase, present at large lambda, is the appearance of weakly ferromagnetic (FM) couplings alternating with strong antiferromagnetic (AFM) ones (we dub it the FM-AFM phase) with a ground state close to a direct-product state of singlet dimers sitting on the AFM bonds. The behavior of the spin gap in both phases is studied by DMRG computation and contrasted with bosonization predictions and perturbation theory around the direct product of dimers. In the FM-AFM phase, robust magnetization plateaus and metamagnetic jumps appear under magnetic fields. The novel phase could be realized in 5d oxides of current interest, with giant spin-phonon coupling. Potential applications of the transition would be associated with the possibility of tuning the transition by external parameters such as striction, magnetic or electric fields, or alloying.

We discuss a model scenario for multiferroic systems of type II (collinear spins) where the electric dipolar order competes with a frustrated magnetic order in determining the elastic distortions of the lattice ion positions. High magnetic frustration due to second neighbors exchange and small spin easy-axis anisotropy lead to the appearance of the so called quantum magnetic plateau states. Increasing the magnetic field above the plateau border produces composite excitations, where fractionalized spin tertions arise together with spontaneous dipolar flips (in the form of domain walls) and enhanced localized elastic distortions. This peculiar magneto-electric effect may be described by magneto-electric-elastic (MEE) quasiparticles that could be detected by X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques. Our results are supported by extensive DMRG computations on the spin sector and self-consistent equations for the lattice distortions.

We introduce a microscopic model for collinear multiferroics capable to reproduce, as a consequence of magnetic frustration and easy-axis anisotropy, the so-called "uudd" (or antiphase) magnetic ordering observed in several type II multiferroic materials. The crucial role of lattice distortions in the multiferroic character of these materials is entered into the model via an indirect magnetoelectric coupling, mediated by elastic degrees of freedom through a pantograph mechanism. Long range dipolar interactions set electric dipoles in the antiferroelectric order. We investigate this model by means of extensive DMRG computations and complementary analytical methods. We show that a lattice dimerization induces a spontaneous Z2 ferrielectric bulk polarization, with a sharp switch off produced by a magnetic field above a critical value. The topological character of the magnetic excitations makes this mechanism robust.

We propose a microscopic magnetoelectric model in which the coupling between spins and electric dipoles is mediated by lattice distortions. The magnetic sector is described by a spin S = 1/2 Heisenberg model coupled directly to the lattice via a standard spin-Peierls term and indirectly to the electric dipole variables via the distortion of the surrounding electronic clouds. Electric dipoles are described by Ising variables for simplicity. We show that the effective magnetoelectric coupling which arises due to the interconnecting lattice deformations is quite efficient in one-dimensional arrays. More precisely, we show using bosonization and extensive density matrix renormalization group numerical simulations that increasing the magnetic field above the spin-Peierls gap, a massive polarization switch-off occurs due to the proliferation of soliton pairs. We also analyze the effect of an external electric field when the magnetic system is in a gapped (plateau) phase and show that the magnetization can be electrically switched between clearly distinct values. More general quasi-one-dimensional models and two-dimensional systems are also discussed.

Using quantum field theory and bosonization, we determine the quantum phase diagram of the one-dimensional Hubbard model with bond-charge interaction X in addition to the usual Coulomb repulsion U at half-filling, for small values of the interactions. We show that it is essential to take into account formally irrelevant terms of order X. They generate relevant terms proportional to X2 in the flow of the renormalization group (RG). These terms are calculated using operator product expansions. The model shows three phases separated by a charge transition at U=Uc and a spin transition at U=Us>Uc. For UUs, the system is in the spin-density wave phase as in the usual Hubbard model. For intermediate values Uc

Going beyond a recently proposed microscopic model [D. Mastrogiuseppe, A. Dobry, arXiv:0810.3018v1] for the incommensurate transition in the spin-Peierls TiOX (X=Cl, Br) compounds, in the present work we start by studying the thermodynamics of the model with XY spins and adiabatic phonons. We find that the system enters an incommensurate phase by a first order transition at a low temperature Tc1. At a higher temperature Tc2 a continuous transition to a uniform phase is found. Furthermore, we study the magnetism in the incommensurate phase by density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations on a one-dimensional Heisenberg model where the exchange is modulated by the incommensurate atomic position pattern. When the wave vector q of the modulation is near π, we find local magnetized zones (LMZ) in which spins abandon their singlets as a result of the domain walls induced by the modulated distortion. When q moves far away enough from π, the LMZ disappear and the system develops incommensurate magnetic correlations induced by the structure. We discuss the relevance of this result regarding previous and future experiments in TiOCl.

We study the magnetic excitations on top of the plateaux states recently discovered in spin-Peierls systems in a magnetic field. We show by means of extensive density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) computations and an analytic approach that one single spin-flip on top of M=1-2/N (N=3,4,...) plateau decays into N elementary excitations each carrying a fraction 1/N of the spin. This fractionalization goes beyond the well-known decay of one magnon into two spinons taking place on top of the M=0 plateau. Concentrating on the 1/3 plateau (N=3) we unravel the microscopic structure of the domain walls which carry fractional spin-1/3, both from theory and numerics. These excitations are shown to be noninteracting and should be observable in x-ray and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments.

We determine the quantum phase diagram of the one-dimensional Hubbard model with bond-charge interaction X in addition to the usual Coulomb repulsion U>0 at half-filling. For large enough X<t the model shows three phases. For large U the system is in the spin-density wave phase as in the usual Hubbard model. As U decreases, there is first a spin transition to a spontaneously dimerized bond-ordered wave phase and then a charge transition to a novel phase in which the dominant correlations at large distances correspond to an incommensurate singlet superconductor.