The energy spectrum and low-temperature magnetic properties of the decorated two-leg mixed spin ladder

Abstract

The energy spectra and low-temperature magnetic properties of two one-dimensional Heisenberg mixed spin (s = 1, 1/2) systems, namely decorated two-leg mixed spin ladders with the lattice topology of polyacene, are studied. The gapless character of the exact excitation energy spectra for both ladder models has been determined. We found numerically that the model with macroscopic ground state spin S0 has gapped excitations with the spin S > S0. This leads to the appearance of an intermediate plateau in field dependence of magnetization at low temperatures. We have shown that the ladder with equal coupling in legs has the maximal size of this plateau at the same coupling in rungs. For a mixed spin ladder model with Ising interactions in legs, the appearance of two intermediate magnetization plateaus at low temperatures and some values of coupling parameters was shown.