Simulated nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in Heisenberg ferrimagnets: Indirect observation of quadratic dispersion relations

Abstract

In response to recent proton spin relaxation-time measurements on NiCu(pba)(H$_2$O)$_3$$\cdot$2H$_2$O with ${pba}=1,3{-propylenebis(oxamato)}$, which is an excellent one-dimensional ferrimagnetic Heisenberg model system of spin-$(1,{1/2})$, we study the Raman relaxation process in spin-$(S,s)$ quantum ferrimagnets on the assumption of predominantly dipolar hyperfine interactions between protons and magnetic ions. The relaxation time $T_1$ is formulated within the spin-wave theory and is estimated as a function of temperature and an applied field $H$ by a quantum Monte Carlo method. The low-temperature behavior of the relaxation rate $T_1^{-1}$ qualitatively varies with $(S,s)$, while $T_1^{-1}$ is almost proportional to $H^{-1/2}$ due to the characteristic dispersion relations.