Classical percolation transition in the diluted two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet

Abstract

The two-dimensional antiferromagnetic S=1/2 Heisenberg model with random site dilution is studied using quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Ground state properties of the largest connected cluster on L*L lattices, with L up to 64, are calculated at the classical percolation threshold. In addition, clusters with a fixed number Nc of spins on an infinite lattice at the percolation density are studied for Nc up to 1024. The disorder averaged sublattice magnetization per spin extrapolates to the same non-zero infinite-size value for both types of clusters. Hence, the percolating clusters, which are fractal with dimensionality d=91/48, have antiferromagnetic long-range order. This implies that the order-disorder transition driven by site dilution occurs exactly at the percolation threshold and that the exponents are classical. The same conclusion is reached for the bond-diluted system. The full sublattice magnetization versus site-dilution curve is obtained in terms of a decomposition into a classical geometrical factor and a factor containing all the effects of quantum fluctuations. The spin stiffness is shown to obey the same scaling as the conductivity of a random resistor network.