Spin Waves in Quantum Antiferromagnets

Abstract

Using a self-consistent mean-field theory for the $S=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet Krüger and Schuck recently derived an analytic expression for the dispersion. It is exact in one dimension ($d=1$) and agrees well with numerical results in $d=2$. With an expansion in powers of the inverse coordination number $1/Z$ ($Z=2d$) we investigate if this expression can be {\em exact} for all $d$. The projection method of Mori-Zwanzig is used for the {\em dynamical} spin susceptibility. We find that the expression of Krüger and Schuck deviates in order $1/Z^2$ from our rigorous result. Our method is generalised to arbitrary spin $S$ and to models with easy-axis anisotropy $\D$. It can be systematically improved to higher orders in $1/Z$. We clarify its relation to the $1/S$ expansion.