312 Ch.

6 Heisenberg Magnets

Digression: Symmetry Breaking (or the Lack of It)

The ground state of any even-L finite piece of the square lattice is a
singlet, but there is overwhelming evidence (though no exact proof33)
that the infinite square lattice is an antiferromagnet. The Nhel state (as
we know it from spin wave theory) is definitely not a singlet state, since
it breaks spin-rotational invariance. This is possible only if for large
L, the optimally constructed Ndel-type state becomes asymptotically
degenerate with the exact singlet ground state.
The phenomenon of spontaneous symmetry breaking can be envis-
aged in the following manner [17, 3821: as L increases, we witness an
accumulation of a large number of very low-lying Stat = 1,2,. . . states.
As L + 00, an infinitesimally small perturbation (such as the pres-
ence of a very weak easy-axis anisotropy) suffices to mix the low-lying
states into a symmetry-breaking wave packet which is asymptotically
degenerate with the singlet ground state. The Ndel-type ground state
is not an eigenstate, but rather a wave packet of true eigenstates with
Stat = 0,1,2,. . . ,O ( a ) [17]. Generally speaking, a similar asymp-
totic degeneracy, and wave-packet formation, provides the mechanism
of spontaneuos symmetry breaking in cases where the order parameter
is not a conserved quantity.
There is an alternative, down-to-earth method to convince ourselves
that the possibility of two-sublattice order is latent in the exact eigen-
states of finite systems. The characteristic up-down pattern of Ndel
ordering arises from the bipartite structure of the square lattice. How
can the singlet ground state “know about” the bipartite nature of the
lattice? We can find out about this by returning to the S” represen-
tation. The argument illuminates that the phase relationships of the
unique quantum-mechanical ground state reflect a two-sublattice parti-
tioning of the lattice, and as a corollary, we find a proof that the ground
state is indeed a singlet [261].

331tis exactly proven that the ground state of the isotropic AF Heisenberg model
shows AF order for any S on the cubic lattice, and for S 1 1 on the square lattice
[95]. As for the S = 1/2 square lattice antiferromagnet, rigorous proofs of T = 0
order have to assume a sufficiently large anisotropy [444]. In spite of this technical
difficulty, the existence of AF order is universally accepted even for the isotropic
model.