Decay of transverse correlations in quantum Heisenberg models

Abstract

We study a class of quantum spin systems that includes the $S=\tfrac12$ Heisenberg and XY-models, and prove that two-point correlations exhibit exponential decay in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. The field is not necessarily constant, it may be random, and it points in the same direction. Our proof is entirely probabilistic and it relies on a random-loop-representation of the correlation functions, on stochastic domination, and on first-passage percolation.