ANNALS

OF PHYSICS

202, 165-185

(1990)

Functional Integration for Quantum Magnets: New Method and New Results
I. V. KOLOKOLOV
Institute of Nuclear Physics, 630090, Novosibirsk, USSR

Received

August

9, 1989

The representation of the generating functional for quantum Heisenberg ferromagnets as an integral over two unconstrained c-number valued fields, charged and neutral, obeying the initial conditions (instead of commonly used periodic boundary conditions) is obtained. With the help of this representation the long-time dynamics of the longitudinal spin component at low temperatures is studied. The infrared-singular part of effective action is calculated for the longitudinal fluctuations in 3D-quantum antiferromagnets as well. 21 1990 Academic Press, Inc.

1.

INTRODUCTION

For a given quantum system it is suitable to represent the partition function and generating functionals as an integral over the space of real or complex functions. Such representation allows one to use the saddle-point method and is useful for analyzing perturbative or nonperturbative effects. Statistical physics of 3D-lattice systems contains the specific small parameter: the inverse number l/Z of nearest neighbours (or the inverse length of interaction l/R). Functional representation is the natural starting point for generation of the perturbation series for some observables in powers of fluctuations over the mean field values. These expansion prove to be series in l/Z or l/R. When the terms of the loop expansions turn out to be singular in a given domain of physical parameters (momentum, frequency, etc.) the path integral allows one to extract and calculate the leading contribution. The numerous examples of the effects in Bose- or Fermi-systems studied in such a way are considered in the books [ 1,2]. The attempts to obtain the functional representation for the quantum Heisenberg ferromagnets have been undertaken by several authors [3-53. Their results do not seem to be acceptable due to the absence of explicit closed expressions [3,4] or, as in the case of [S], the failure of trivial identities (see Section 2). In the work of the present author [6] the method for rewriting the partition function of the magnet in nonsymmetric phase as the integral over two number-valued fields, charged and neutral, was preposed. The quasi-particles corresponding to the charged field behaved as the ordinary bosons (magnons). The perturbation theory expansion of the functional integral [6] reproduced the operator diagram technique 165
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Copyright 0 1990 by Academic Press. Inc All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

166

I.V.KOLOKOLOV

results [7, S]. It is worth noting that the results indicative of faults in the developed perturbation theory were reproduced as well (the frozen longitudinal spin component fluctuations; See Section 3 for more details). It will be shown below that the functional representation obtained in [6] is erroneous due to incorrectly treated global obstructions. Working thoroughly and using as before the method of [6] I derive the correct expression. The several ways to verify the consistency of the whole construction are also presented. The field of integration in our resulting integral is retained the same as in [6]. However, the charged field no longer describes bosons in spite of their number nature. This result is in accordance with the fact that magnons are not bosons when treated rigorously. The Langrangian corresponding to quantum magnet is the functional of the fields, non-local in time. This circumstance turns out to be crucial in the analysis of long-time correlations (see Section 3). Our method has no restrictions in the spin magnitude S. For the sake of simplicity the calculations are presented for the case S= i. In the recent work [lo] the functional integral for the quantum ferromagnets has been derived for the cases S= $, 1. The difference between our representation and the corresponding expressions [lo] is discussed in the concluding section. Functional approach has been developed for the high-temperature dynamics as well [ 111. It is worth noting that the mentioned obstructions are irrelevant in that case since the representations of the works [6, 111 have quite different structures. In Sections 4 and 5 the low-frequency dynamics of quantum antiferromagnet is studied. There the approximate rather than exact functional representation is used. The approach of Sections 4 and 5 has some similar features with the construction of works [3,4]. This look from the somewhat different point of view may be helpful for the clarification of the whole picture and it simplifies the calculations.

2. FUNCTIONAL REPRESENTATION

1. Let US recall the derivation of the Ising model [12]:

H, = - + J,iaiaj,

of the functional fJi= +1

n

integral for the partition

function
(2.1)

Z,= Tr(e-

as)=J

&,

exp(

pq;qjJ&)

.Tr exp(acpio;)
(2.2)

Part of the calculation E. V. Podivilov [9].

in Sections

2 and 3 has been carried

out by the author

in collaboration

with

FUNCTIONAL

INTEGRATION

167

Here J, is the energy of exchange interaction of the spins on lattice sites ri and rj, J*: is the matrix inverse of J,, and summation over repeated indices is assumed. The aim of the Gaussian trick used in (2.2) is to reduce the trace over the set of magnet states to the product of the one-spin traces. The direct generalization of (2.2) for the case of quantum Heisenberg ferromagnet does not take place because of non-commutativity of spin operators. But for the operator exp( -/Ml,,), where
H,, = - $ J,S,S/

(2.3)

and E + 0, the Gaussian transformation like (2.2) can be performed with precision up to the terms w.s2. Thus, writing exp( -/?H,,) as (e-EBHer)E, we come to the expression for the generating functional Z(h) of temperature Greens functions of spin operators: Z(h)=Tr in the form [3,4, 131
Z(h) = 1 n DpAt) exp

Texp(

-flH,,+JO

hi(t)Sjdt)

(2.4)

- $

B j0

dt q,(t)

J,; q,(t)

>
(2.5 1

.Tr

Texp

dt[cpj(t)
0

+ hi(t)]!!&

)I
.

The symbol T denotes a chronological product and hi is the external field on the lattice site c,. Path integral (2.5) is understood as a limit of finite-dimensional approximations: &i(t)= n
2 = .x, .),z

fi
n = 1

dq:(fln/N),

N+O.

(2.6)

Let us rewrite (2.2) in more convenient form shifting the variables q,(t) by -hi(t):
Z(h)=jn&i(t)exp I -$ lr 10 dtqiJ,iv,

+~PhiJ,~Lgid~-t~Pdth,J,~hj
0 0

.,Tr[Texp(~o,j(,)Sid~)l. I Time-ordered operator exponent A(t)= Texp

fdtcp(t)S
0

(2.5)

>

(2.7)

168 is defined by the equation

I. V. KOLOKOLOV

-m=(cp(f)S) A(f)

(2.8

and initial condition A(0) = 1. The operator A(t) cannot be expressed explicitly as a functional of q(t). However, the substitution does exist which recast a T-ordered exponent into the product of usual ones (see also [6]). Indeed, let us consider the operator given in the explicit form: B(t) = exp(S +~-(r))exp(Sj:p(r.)dr.) .exp SdrII+(l)exp(~~~(l)dl)dl)-exp(-S+I-(0)), J0
(2.9)

where S = s + is and $ * (t), p(t) are some new functions of t. Using the commutator relations of spin operators and functions of them: [S-, F(s+)] F(s;)s= -2sF(s+)+ = s-F(S1) S+F(S+),

one can be convinced that the operator B(t) obeys the equation

B(t)= {s+($- -ply

+S(p+2$+l+-)}

-l+b($-))+S-Il/+ B(t).

(2.10)

The last factor in (2.9) provides the equality B(0) = 1. Thus, the substitution
(pi=p+2*+*p,

cp- =I+-

-p$-

VP+=ti+, -Il/f($-)f

(2.11)

where cp = $(@ + QJ), recasts A(t) into the form (2.9). Thus, considering p and $ * as the new fields of integration, we can calculate the trace of T-exponent explicitly and obtain a closet functional representation for Z(h). However, the change of variables (2.11) contains $- on the right-hand side and either boundary or initial conditions should be imposed. It would be natural to impose periodic boundary conditions (as it was done in [6]), but in that case the mapping (2.11) becomes noninvertible. In the present work we use the Cauchy-like condition:
*-(O)=O. (2.12)

2. We may consider the fields co, cp+ in the measure DC@ Dcp+ Dqas independent complex variables with the constraints Im rp = 0, cp+ = (cp- )* fixing

FUNCTIONAL

INTEGRATION

169

the surface of integration. The variables p, $ * are also treated as independent when evaluating the Jacobian J[ p, II/ + , $ - ] :
Dcp=Dcp+ Dq=J[p, $+, I+-] .Dp Dt,b+ De-.

(2.13)

The Jacobian J= det j depends on a regularization of differential j of the transformation (2.11). Expressions for J obtained under different regularization prescriptions can be different from each other by the factor exp(a j[ p dt), where CI is an arbitrary real number. (See, e.g., [14], where the determinant of a similar operator is calculated.) In our case the regularization is fixed by the following evident condition. The partition function Z(h = 0) calculated with the help of the functional integral with J, = c. 6, must be equal to the expression Z(h = 0) = exp( fl( c . i S( S + 1) + const)) (2.14)

being the trivial consequence of the kinematic identity 3 = S(S + 1). It will be shown that the Jacobian corresponding to (2.14) is equal to
J[p, $+, I,-]

=const.exp

(-ij-)d+

(2.15)

(The lattice site index is temporarily omitted.) This value of J is provided by the following discretization of transformation (2.11):

(2.11)

Indeed, let one more transformation be performed: p = fi - 21+b +I,-, t+b + $ *, * having the unity Jacobian. The Jacobian of transformation from cp, 40* to b, $ is simply det(d/dt - p + 2tj II/ ~ ) = det(d/dt - p). Thus, we can conclude that det 3 = det(d/dt - p). (2.16)

Such a determinant has also been considered in the work done in Ref. [15] with various boundary and initial conditions. In order for this paper to be self-contained let us cite the derivation of (2.16) in our regularization: imposing the condition (2.12) we can consider the right-hand side of (2.16) as the Jacobian of the map

170

I. V. KOLOKOLOV

where n = 1, .... N, $; = 0. The latter can be calculated easily as the determinant a triangular matrix: 1 1 z-LjP1, 11 det 3 = det
pp2,

of

\ 0, 11
-j-p,

.... 0 ,...,

0 0 1 --- 1
A 2pN,

03 **.,

(2.17)

In the limit A -0 we get the expression (2.15) where const = l/AN. It is worth noting that the regularizaton (2.11) leads to the coincidence of the operators A(t) and B(t) up to the terms N A2 inclusively. (The corresponding discretization of Eqs. (2.5) and (2.7) is assumed.) 3. The trace of operator B( /?) can be calculated easily for an arbitrary value of spin S. However, we restrict ourselves to the clase S= i in order to avoid unwieldy expressions:

+exp(-tlffpdr).[l+$-(~)!OD)+(t)exp(l:pdr)dr]. Hence Z(h) is represented as the following functional Z(h)=IDpDII/ IA,ecr integral:

(2.18)

+~Jppidr-JPhi/,~lcp,dt. 0 i 0

Here the quadratic in h term is omitted because it does not contribute the nonsimultaneous correlators we are interested in. The field pi in the product with the

FUNCTIONAL

INTEGRATION

171

source hi implies the expression in terms of p ;, +i+ according to (2.11). We can deform the initial surface of integration to the standard one, Imp=O, ti+ =($-I*, (2.20)

if the integral converges over any intermediate surface. For the case of ferromagnetic exchange interaction this convergence is provided by the kinetic term $,+ J,; I+&,- of Lagrangian and the mentioned deformation is possible. 4. It is crucial that the condition imposed on the field is the initial (not the boundary) one: Ic/-(O) = 0. This means in particular that the excitations described by the field $ * (magnons) do not obey in a strict sense the Bose-Einstein statistics. The last sentence is the obvious consequence of the spin operators boundedness. The validity of Equality (2.14) is the necessary condition for the representation (2.19) to be correct. When J,j = c 6, the action r is equal to (2.21) and Z(h = 0) reduces to the product of one-lattice-site Gaussian integrals which are easily calculated. The result is just (2.14). It can be verified by explicit calculations that the change of regularization would destroy Equality (2.14). (For example, the free energy would be a nontrivial function of Z instead of the constant.) 5. In the paper [6] the periodic boundary conditions sl/~ (0) = \I/ ~ (/I) are used. When these conditions are imposed and the regularization (2.11) is used, the Jacobian of (2.11) is equal to (compare with (2.17); $; =rc/;) / det jPer = det i
=

l/A -PI/~, -l/A - ~212,

0, l/A -p2,

.... 0, 0, -l/A

0, ....
-P,&,

-l/A

-PI/L\

0 l/A -PA@

d, ...) .

(2.22) In contrast with (2.15) the Jacobian (2.22) vanishes on the hypersurfaces SOp dt = inm where m is an arbitrary integer. It means that the holomorphic p mapping of complex spaces ( pn, $,, $;) + (cpi, cp:, cp; ) is multivalued: a single configuration of fields (cp+, cp) corresponds to some set of ($ *, p)-configurations (see, e.g., [16]). When the segment (0, /I) is compactified in a circle then the zeros of the Jacobian in the space of fields ( p, $ + )-configurations do not disappear under modifications

172

1. V. KOLOKOLOV

of transformation (2.11) keeping the number of derivatives in the right-hand side. The regularization providing Equality (2.14) does not exist in this case. The same one is valid, e.g., in the case of antiperiodic boundary conditions. The passage from boundary to initial conditions as a method of getting rid of zero modes was proposed by S. Vergeles in his work [17] devoted to SU(2)-anomaly. The relined method proposed in [S] leads to the functional integral which does not obey the relation (2.14). Apparently, it is connected with the impossibility of unambiguous gauge fixing in the approach of the work in [S]. (The gauge of [S] suffers from the Gribov ambiguity.) 6. There exists another method to check the correctness of our representation (2.18). It is also a good illustration of great importance of boundary conditions in the functional integral. Let us consider the vacuum expectation value of operator eWBHer, M Z,=(Ole -pH@vIO) = exp - -i- S2/3J(0) , ( ) where J(0) = xi J, and M = xi 1. On the other hand, the functional representation of Z,, is derived from (2.19) by the replacement of Tr B(p) (2.18) by (0 ) B( /?) IO ) = exp( -S JOp dr): p
Z,=jDpD$+D@exp -r,+(-s+&)xjpidt).
i O

(2.24)

The condition t,-(O) = 0 allows us to evaluate (2.24) exactly in spite of nonlinear interaction of fields $ * (which prevents (2.24) from exact evaluation when periodic boundary conditions are imposed). Indeed, the bare propagator of field II/ is

($; (11)Gi (fd)b = ; J,W, - 12)

(2.25)

and when the integration over + is performed, all the contributions to effective action (functional of pi(t)) containing more than one $+$$ and p$$ vertex vanish. As a result the effective action W, is the linear functional of p,(t): exp(-Wo[~i(t)])=~D$f DI+-ePr$=const.exp
(-T jopidt). (2.26)

(Here TJ denotes @dependent part of r). Thus, the integration over p,(t) is Gaussian and by performing it we come to (2.23). (Note that the value of the step function e(O) = f corresponds to our regularization (2.1 l).) It is worth elucidating the origin of our set of fields (p, II/). Classical spin is a vector of fixed length and its states form a sphere. It is well known that the sphere is covered by two complex planes. Thus, in order to define the state one complex number and the index of the plane must be given. The latter is similar with the Ising degree of freedom and can be described by the real field as is shown by the formula (2.2). The quantum noncommutativity fills this picture with the nontrivial dynamics.

FUNCTIONAL

INTEGRATION

173

3. DYNAMICS AT Low TEMPERATURES 1. The low temperatures limit means that J?.!(O) 9 1 and fi = (S+S- ) < 1. Besides that we are using one more small parameter which is defined as l/R, where R is the length of exchange interaction. This quantity has been introduced for the first time for the Heisenberg ferromagnet in the work done in Ref. [7]. When the lattice size a is less than R: a/R < 1, the Fourier transform JI, of J(r,- rj) - J,, has the order of magnitude of J, in the domain with the linear size N l/R around the point k = 0 and is about J,(u/R)~ in the rest of the Brillouin zone. It follows from this, for example, that CI, Jt z J~(u/R)~. In the case of nearest neighbours interaction we have (a/R) = l/Z, where Z is the number of these neighbours, and for cubic lattices l/Z < l/6. There are some effects that are correctly described by the picture of weakly interacting magnon gas. In those cases the representation (2.12) is less convenient than the Anzatz by Holstein-Primakoff [18] or Dyson-Maleev [ 19, 203 which ignore the tinitedimensionality of spin states space. Therefore in the present work we concentrate upon the nonmagnon part of the magnet dynamics, more precisely, upon spin longitudinal component dynamics. 2. When we are interested in the long-time behaviour, the direct perturbation series expansion can happen to be failed. The simple but striking example of such phenomenon is considered in Polyakovs paper [Zl]. For the particle moving quantum mechanically in the double well potential the perturbation series in coupling constant g for the correlator (x(0) x(t)) contains the terms of the form t exp( -const . n/g2). These terms are exponentially small in g* but increase with the time t. The presence of such terms means that the slowly relaxating modes exist in our system. In order to calculate the long-time asymptotics, these infraredsingular terms must be extracted and summed up. The leading contribution is given usually by a Dyson-like summation. (In the field theory the similar ideology relates to the extraction and summation of leading logarithms [ 1,2,22]). In the quantum ferromagnet at low temperatures the slowly relaxating mode affects the longitudinal correlator K,(t) = (S,(O) S;(t)). Indeed, it was shown in the work [7] that there are two kinds of terms in the perturbation series for K,(t). The terms of the first (dynamical) kind arise due to the magnons, which take away the magnetization and, thereby, contribute to K,(t). This dynamical contribution is proportional to a power of l/R. The second kind of terms corresponds to the frozen-in Ising-like fluctuations of the longitudinal spin component (i.e., of the S). It is nonanalytical in the temperature and does not have a smallness in l/R. At low temperatures and small the latter static term in K, can be ignored. However, when the real time t --) co, the dynamical contribution decreases as t-l (see [7, 8]), while the static contribution does not depend on t. The absence of the terms in the perturbation series of [6, 71 providing the relaxation of the static part means that this series is not complete. This remark applies equally to the equilibrium version of the diagram technique for the spin operators [S]. It is shown below that in the

174

I. V. KOLOKOLOV

functional representation (2.19), where the structure of spin degrees of freedom is taken into account correctly, the frozen fluctuations do revive due to the appearance of the infrared singular terms in the corresponding effective action. Their dynamics can be described by the neutral scalar field with the nonzero mass. 3. We are unable to perform the integration over tj in (2.19) exactly and, as usual, we divide the action into free part and perturbation:

- -. Here mP denotes the nonpolynomial part of rint, iii = p, -p, p 1s the expectation value of the field pi. We assume that hi= (0, 0, hi) since we are interested in the dynamics of the =-component only. The saddle-point value p. is defined by minimization of the bare effective potential, which is equal to (see (2.26)): Vo(~)=;J,~2+~+Wo(~)=;J,~2+;~. Then PO= -$Jo and the mean spin (S), = - 4 corresponds to the ordinary ferromagnetic The bare propagator of the field $ in k, t-representation has the form: (3.3) vacuum. (3.2)

G:(t,, tz)= ($t (t,) ICI:(tz)>

=$J,B(t, -t2)exp[P(1 -Jk/Jo)(tl

-t?)l.

(3.4)

FUNCTIONAL

INTEGRATION

175

The contribution of terms from rin, into various averages are small either in temperature or in the inverse radius of interaction and a perturbation theory can be developed. 4. The real-time correlations can be calculated from representation (3.1) immediately by substitution of a n-like contour C in the complex plane of X for the line segment (0, p) and arrangement on C of the sources hi(t) in an appropriate way. (The countour C includes two vertical rays (0, +icc) and ( j, + ice) and one horizontal segment (0, p). For more details see [23, 24, 111.) The correlator K,(t) is given in our representation by the average

When t + +cc, the dynamical contribution due to magnons disappears as t-r (it may be verified by explicit calculations). What remains is only Kj(t) x J,YJ,-, D,,(t) (3.6) ~,m(t) = (ii,(O) q,(t)>. After the integration Z(h)=jDqexp over Ic/ we come to the expression for Z(h) of the form: ( dttjiJl+jj+C s0
WIQi]+~BdffjiJ,lhj I
0

>

(3.7

where the functional W[q] is expressible as the series in q. This expansion starts from the second power of q, W = W,[ij] + W, [q] + . . . , since the linear terms can be eliminated by redefinition of p. The behaviour of K,(t) at t -+ cc is determinated by the infrared-singular contributions to W,[ij]:

The terms, which are omitted in (3.8), are less than the one kept or do not play the role in the forming of asymptotics of K,(t) at t --) co. The latter relates, for example, to the contribution from the vertex of local interaction of fields $ and Ic/. Using in (3.8) the following form of
J, = J J:QJ,, ka <a/R ka > a/R

(3.9)

we obtain in the first nonvanishing

order of R-,

176 Keeping the infrared-singular W,[ij]

1. V. KOLOKOLOV

terms only we come to the expression: (3.10)

= 4 ebfi (loRqdt)2+J,rJopdt(~~jdi~)2.

Substitute the contour C instead of the segment singularity is meaningful in this case only.) If the zero for the given trajectory, the contribution of infinitely large due to the second term in (3.10) means that the change of variables

(0, /I). (The notion of infrared integral SC Q dt is not equal to this trajectory to the action is and thus can be ignored. This

is admissible, where the field q is equal to zero on the ends of the contour @. (More precisely: we change the variables from ij(t) to q(t) and l= Jc q dt. The quadratic in the 5: part of the action has an infinite coefficient and the fluctuations of this mode do not contribute to the dynamics of other modes and to observable correlators.) The generating functional (3.7) takes the form:

(3.11) It is clear from this expression that the terms of next order of Rp are inessential only for the fluctuations qk having ka > a/R. This part of k-space dominates and inside of it Jk = J,. The functional Z(h), restricted to this fluctuation, is equal to
Z(h) = 1 Dq exp 41tjk12-m; Ivr12)+f~j
mk

M-dt)

(3.11)

where
&=

J2

%epp.

(3.12) on

The expression for the propagator of v satisfying the zero boundary conditions the far-away ends of @ follows from (3.11) immediately

(?/k(o) q-k(t)) =&-t

Thus, the asymptotics of the longitudinal
Kk(t)

rl

(3.13)

correlator is
(3.14)

- I- +r*, f ePP/2.e-m,f

FUNCTIONAL

INTEGRATION

177 to, for example,

for ka > a/R. Such k give the dominant

Kli(t)=C

contribution
Kk(t) k

and the asymptotics of Ki, coincides with the right-hand side of (3.14) in the leading order of R-. The exponential in /?p factor in the expression (3.12) for rni has a simple explanation. The step-by-step perturbation theory describes the shallow transversal fluctuations. The choppings against a background of frozen-in longitudinal relaxation of these fluctuations does not arise in any order of magnon perturbation theory. The destruction of longitudinal correlations is provided by the fast rolling of localized spins; the probability of such configurations is suppressed just by the factor ePp since -@ is the required energy. The machinery of the symmetry restoration for the particle in the double well potential [21] has some similar features to our picture. However, our variables allow one in some sense to extract the instantonic degrees of freedom not relying on some specific field configurations. 5. Our formalism is not homogeneous in time: for example, the averages (p,(t)) and ($,t (t) $; (t)) are nontrivial functions of t. But the observable quantity

(Z) =J,KPj(m

+Wf

(t) $,- (t)>)

(3.15)

does not depend on t in any order of perturbation theory. It can be verified by direct calculations that the expansion of (3.1) over powers of R- leads for (Sf ) to the (corrected) result of [7]. The Green function of the field t,Qis defined in this computation by the bilinear part of action r together with the term (see (3.1))

Instead of (3.4) we obtain

(3.17)

Using for the evaluation account the contribution

of ( tiJ+ (t) $; (t)) the propagator (3.17) and taking into to ( pi(t)) due to the term of fi,,, (3.18)

178

I.V.KOLOKOLOV

we come to the expression for s= (ST) of the work done in Ref. [7] (see also
C41):

(3.19)

Here y,=

-/?JOs (in accordance with (3.3) the inequality MY) = 4. thy/2

s<O is assumed),

is the Brillouin equation,

function with the index 4, 3, is the solution of the bare mean field $0 = -h,2(Yo)
(3.20)

and, finally, nk is the magnon distribution

1 nk=eBEkT

function:
&k = &,(J, -JO).

In (3.19) some numerical errors presented in [7] are removed (see [25a]). In the preprint [25a] the temperature dependences S(T) computed by means of (3.19) have been compared with the experimental data [25b] for EuO and Ed. The formula (3.19) has been found to agree with the experiment up to the temperatures Tc --Jo/Z where Tc is the Curie temperature. Summation of the perturbation theory terms regularizing the S(T) behaviour in the limit S, + 0 improves this agreement and can be used for semi-empirical determination of critical indices [25a].

4. LOW-TEMPERATURE DYNAMICSOF 3D-QUANTUM ANTIFERROMAGNETS 1. The theory of one- and two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets becomes non-trivial on the ground state level already (see, e.g., the recent review preprint [26]). In the three-dimensional case the small parameter l/Z allows one to simplify the theory at low temperatures. Really, it is easy to show (see [27]) that the minimal eigenvalue E, of the Hamiltonian
H= ic
i.J

J&S,

(4.1)

is bounded by the limits

EC, l+& ( > <E,,<Ec,

FUNCTIONAL

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179

Here E,, < 0 is the diagonal matrix element of H in the classical vacuum state (the alternation of positively and negatively oriented spins), and S is the maximal projection of spin (in what follows S = i). Thus, the fluctuations over the classical vacuum at low temperatures T are small as some positive power of l/Z, or of T = l/p, and the perturbation theory can be used. In the present section only the slowly-relaxating contribution to the irreducible longitudinal correlator (S,(O) S;(t)) is considered. Instead of the parameter l/Z we use, as in Section 3, the inverse length of interaction: we assume that the exchange function J(r;-r,) differs from zero for the exchange between the sublattices with different spin orientation only and that its Fourier-transform has the behaviour (3.9). Denote B = J,, 1 x JO(a/R) < Jo in the following. BJ 2. Instead of writing out the exact path integral generating functional Z( h ), representation for the

we will obtain for Z(h) the approximate expression in the functional integral form using the smallness of the transverse fluctuations. Performing then the part of functional integrations we will arrive at the expression for Z(h) = Z((0, 0, h)) encoding the effects interesting to us. As in Section 2, the functional Z(h) can be rewritten in the form:

Temporarily omitting the lattice site indices we start to calculate approximately trace of the T-exponent as a functional of q(t):

the

TrTexp(ijo~dtIp(i)S)=~~+~ (aI Texp(ijodrrp(r)S) la) (4.4)

Here Slo)=iol~) and

p(t)=cp=(t)+2o~+(t)II/~(t),
where the functions J/(t) rT= +1, are determined by the equations

(4.5)
(see Section 2): for

*- =v-,

-ilj+ +cp=ll/+ +$-(lj+)?=cP+,

$(O)=O

(4.6)

180 and for cr= -1, *+=v+,

I. V. KOLOKOLOV

-i~--cpll/-+~+(~~)2=cp-,

*-(O)=O.

(4.7)

These equations can be solved by iterations when the inequality holds. In the first nonvanishing order we obtain i -CT jPp(t) 2 0 d+jPcpz(t)
0

cp+q - < (cp)

dl q-(t) v+(t)exp -ijd.qf() ,,I _ (4.8)

- ~opdt~oDdl O(a(t-t))

Let crI be the function of a lattice site having the value + 1 on the positive sublattice and - 1 on the negative one. At low temperatures the saddle-point configuration qDf corresponds to the classical vacuum,
(qf)=-Jjp,=

i 2

-:

Joaj.

(4.9)

The bare bilinear part of the action for the transverse modes,
S::= -2 jP$+(t)J,71q;(f)dt
0

. exp( - i cr,Jo( t - t)),

(4.10)

describes the usual magnon exitations over the classical vacuum. Let the integer b = 1,2 numerate the sublattices in such a way that on the sublattice b our a-function has the value CT[= (- l)b+ = rrb. The diagonalization of (4.10) in space indices is performed by introduction of the Fourier-components q,+(k) for each sublattice separately:

cp:(rj)=a3

d3k

+ ikr, .

w,7T;trjv$(k)e-

(4.11)

Here w is the Brillouin zone corresponding to the double unit sell of the initial lattice. The propagators of the fields cp:(k) can be found by solving the system of the two first-order differential equations. We only need the solution in the domain
/3 -+ co, Ikl > 1/R:

FUNCTIONAL

INTEGRATION

181 -t2))

((~b(t~, k) cpb+(r2, k)) = -i

IB120(ob(t, - t2)) exp( -d2(t,

+i ( F ) *19(d(t,0

tl)) exp(oQ2(t, - t2)), (4.12)

3. The fields r$ of longitudinal

fluctuations
-;J,@+$(t).

are defined by the equality (4.13)

cp;(r,, t)=

Our next step is the calculation of the quadratic part W, of the effective action W for the field q to the first order in l/R, and the extraction of the contribution dominating at low frequencies. The initial stage of such an extraction is obvious: the more time integrations are contained in a given term, the more significant is this term in the infrared region. The infrared asymptotics of the two terms in W,, df Qob(f.exp( - 4 J,d(tt))

?)I. (P,(t,

r,) qb+(t,

rj))

+te-BJoCjbdljo~dt'B(ob(r'-t))(~g(f,rj)~bt(r',rj)) i.b '

. exp( - i Jooh(t - t)) are quite different /I -+ co and has a and corresponding following form of

(4.14)

from each other. The first term does not disappear in the limit nonresonance structure: the signs of the o-function arguments exponents in (4.12) are opposite to each other leading to the this term:

As a consequence, the corresponding contribution to the q-q-correlator relaxates at times on the order of l/Jo. It can be verified that the latter statement does not change when the finite-temperature corrections to (4.12) are taken into account (in the given order of l/R). On the contrary, the second term in (4.14) gives the

182

I. V. KOLOKOLOV

infrared-singular contribution to WZ(r). Indeed, the second term of the expression (4.12) being substituted into (4.14) leads to the appearing of the resonance integral in W,[q],

having in the leading in B/J,,, T order and in the momentum-frequency tion the form

representa-

(4.16) Recalling the bare action for the field q, (4.17) we can easily calculate the low-frequency asymptotics of (q:(o) of the continuation into the real time in the time-momentum ka > a/R, t > 0, (%=,(t, k) S;,,(O, -k)) -k)) >
(S;=,(t,k)S;=2(0,k))= +,

q;*(w)). The result representation is,

= (S,=,(t,

k) S;;,,(O,

nz*=e -P jBj*/2J,,,

(4.18)

When the transformation from w- to t-representation is performed the path of o-integration passes by +0 over the real axis. This prescription corresponds to the adiabatical switching off the interaction in the far future t + +co. 4. The approach developed there allows one to illuminate the origin of the infrared-singular terms in the effective action for longitudinal fluctuations. Flipped due to an Ising-like fluctuation (weight -ePsJo), spin gets in the resonance with the magnons having the frequency near the value of the mean field Jo/2. When a/R + 0 the magnons with the Q = Jo/2 - O(J,a/R) dominate in the Brillouin zone. (The importance of such magnons has been emphasized also in [S]). In the nearest-neighbours interaction case the frequency averaged over the angles has the value w=J,/2O(J,/Z) in domain close to the boundary of the first Brillouin zone. For the cubic symmetry lattices our formulas can pretend to the good qualitative and rough quantitative description of longitudinal dynamics in real crystals.

FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION 5. CONCLUSION

183

1. In the recent work done in Ref. [28] the hypothesis on the equivalence of 2D-quantum antiferromagnet to the (2 + 1 )-sigma model with the action containing the Hopf invariant has been suggested. This paper has given rise to a number of publications devoted to the functional description of quantum spin systems [29-321. As a functional variable corresponding to the spin degrees of freedom in papers [29-321 the unit vector field n(r, t), n2 = 1 has been used. Formal expressions obtained in that work have a form.

I Dn exp(- Xnl

1,

(5.1)

where the action S[n] contains the time derivative of the field n(r, t) in the term of the kind of the Berrys phase only (i.e., in a term having form of the solid angle inside of the vector n(r, t) trajectory, where r is fixed). The higher time-derivatives of n(r, t) appear as a consequence of regularization. Together with the compactness of the variable these circumstances lead to the senselessness of a formal continuum limit of (5.1): in order to calculate the n-correlation functions the action terms of the kind -sir2, s3ii2, -cairn, etc. must be taken into account. Here E is a quantum of time in the discretized path integral (5.1). (The absence of the continuum limit of (5.1) has been emphasized in [32]). If an action is a bounded functional of a compact dynamical variable then the saddle-point method being the starting point of all the approximate computations is principally inapplicable for the path integral (5.1). (The actions of [29-321 are examples of such kind since they do not contain terms sensitive to the external curvature of the trajectory.) There is a simple illustrative example of the faultiness of the saddle-point method. Let us consider the variable n(t), n = 1 and the path integral:
m(l)=[Dn(t)exp(i~~d(r)dr). (5.2)

We are interested in the leading exponential part of the asymptotics of @(I --f +co). Naive application of the saddle-point method gives @(,I) N e because the action has the maximum equal to ,I on the trajectory nZ = 1, n,= n,, = 0. On the other hand, the path integral (5.2) can be computed exactly:

= N-~ lim

{j*(l+~~$)~*=const.ei/3.

This result shows that the fluctuations near the extremal are exponentially large. This phenomenon emerges due to the compactness of the field and the boundedness
595/202/l-13

184

I.V.KOLOKOLOV

of the action. In the book [33] functional integrals over unrestricted fields with actions, independent of derivatives of these fields, are considered. It is shown that the fluctuations near the action extremals are inessential in that case. From this point of view the practical value of our representation (2.19) is based on the unboundedness of the integration variables. 2. In the recent work [lo] the functional integral having local action has been derived for S= $, 1. Together with c-number-valued fields, similar to our p, II/ *, this integral contains fermionic ghosts. The integration over these additional fields cannot be performed exactly and in this sense the difference between the representations [lo] and (2.19) is radical.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am very grateful to my friends E. V. Podivilov and A. V. Rodishevsky for help and advice. I acknowledge V. I. Belinicher, V. S. Lvov, 0. P. Sushkov and A. I. Vainstein for the numerous discussions concerning the present work, I. B. Khriplovich for the stimulating questions, V. S. Dotsenko and M. E. Peskin for clarifying conversation, and S. N. Vergeles for the helpful communication.

REFERENCES 1. V. N. POPOV, Path Integrals in Quantum Field Theory and Statistical Physics, Nauka, Moscow, 1976. [Russian] 2. P. N. BRU~W AND V. N. POPOV, Superfluidity and Collective Properties of Quantum Liquids, Nauka, Moscow, 1988. [Russian] 3. S. LEIBLER AND H. ORLAND, Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 132 (1981) 277. 4. R. MICNAS. Physica A 98 (1979). 403. 5. A. JEVICKI AND N. PAPANICOLAOU,Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 120 (1979), 107. 6. I. V. KOLOKOLOV, Phys. Lett. A 114 (1986), 99. 7. V. G. VAKS, A. I. LARKIN, AND S. A. PIKIN, Sov. Phys. JETP (Engl. Transl.) 26 (1968), 188. 8. V. I. BELINICHER AND V. S. L.vov, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 86 (1984), 967. (English translation in Sou.
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Transl. ) ).

(Engl.

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INTEGRATION

185

21. A. M. POLYAKOV, Nucl. Phys. B 120 (1977), 429. 22. C. ITZYK~IJN AND J.-B. ZUBER, Quantum Field Theory, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1980. 23. L. V. KELDYSH, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 47 (1964), 1515. (English translation in Sou. Phys. JETP

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24. A. J. NIEMI AND G. W. SEMENOFF, Nucl. Phys. B 230 {FSlO} (1984), 181. 25. (a) I. V. KOLOKOLOV, et al., On the Magnetization of Ferromagnets at 0 $ T< T, : E u 0 etc., Inst. of Automation and Electromery Preprint 253, Novosibirsk, 1984. [Russian]; (b) L. PASSEL, 0. DIETRICH, AND I. ALS-NIELSEN, Phys. Rev. B 14 (1976), 4897. 26. I. AFFLECK, Field Theory and Quantum Critical Phenomena, Univ. of British Columbia Preprint, Vancouver, 1988. 27. P. W. ANDERSON, Phys. Rev. 86 (1952) 694. 28. P. B. WIEGMANN, Phys. Rev. Left. 60 (1988). 821. 29. E. FRADKIN AND M. STONE, Illinois Preprint, ILL-(TH)-88-12 (1988); H. B. NIELSEN AND D. ROHRLICH, Nucl. Phys. B 299 (1988), 471. 30. T. JACOBSON, Boston Univ. Preprint BU-88-12a (1988). 31. K. JOHNSON, MIT-Preprint CTP-1656 (1988). 32. P. ORLAND, Virginia Polytech. Inst. Preprint VPI-IHEP-88/6 (1988). 33. A. M. POLYAKOV. Gauge Fields and Strings, Harwood Acad. Publ., 1987.