Spin-1/2 Heisenberg diamond-like decorated honeycomb lattice in a magnetic field from the perspective of localized magnons and exact diagonalization

Abstract

The spin-$1/2$ quantum Heisenberg model on the diamond-decorated honeycomb lattice in a magnetic field is investigated using complementary analytical and numerical methods. The ground-state phase diagram comprises Lieb-Mattis ferrimagnetic, dimer-tetramer, monomer-dimer, spin-canted, and saturated paramagnetic phases, giving rise to characteristic magnetization plateaus, continuous and discontinuous field-induced transitions. In the highly frustrated regime, a localized-magnon approach based on an effective classical lattice-gas model provides an accurate description of the low-temperature magnetism and thermodynamics in agreement with numerical results. At intermediate frustration, finite-temperature calculations reveal characteristic specific-heat signatures of the field-induced transitions including the development of Ising critical behavior at the field-induced transition between the monomer-dimer and Lieb-Mattis ferrimagnetic phase.