Magnetization plateau and quantum phase transitions in a spin-orbital model

Abstract

A spin-orbital chain with different Landé $g$ factors and one-ion anisotropy is studied in the context of the thermodynamical Bethe ansatz. It is found that there exists a magnetization plateau resulting from the different Landé $g$ factors. Detailed phase diagram in the presence of an external magnetic field is presented both numerically and analytically. For some values of the anisotropy, the four-component system undergoes five consecutive quantum phase transitions when the magnetic field varies. We also study the magnetization in various cases, especially its behaviors in the vicinity of the critical points. For the SU(4) spin-orbital model, explicit analytical expressions for the critical fields are derived, with excellent accuracy compared with numerics.