Exact ground state of the Shastry-Sutherland lattice with classical Heisenberg spins

Abstract

An exact analytical solution of the ground state problem of the isotropic classical Heisenberg model on the Shastry-Sutherland lattice in external magnetic field $H$ is found for arbitrary ratio of diagonal to edge exchange constants $J_2/J_1$. The phase diagram of this model in the ($J_2/J_1, H/J_1$) plane is presented. It includes spin-flop, spin-flip and umbrella phases. The magnetization curves are found to be linear until saturation. It is shown numerically that the inclusion of the easy-axis anisotropy into the model leads to the appearance of the 1/3 magnetization plateau, corresponding to the collinear up-up-down spin structure. This explains the appearance of the 1/3 magnetization plateau in rare earth tetraborides RB$_4$. In particular, magnetization curve of the compound HoB$_4$ is explained.