Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study magnets composed of molecules with an arbitrary number $m$ of magnetically active atoms in a chain configuration interacting with nearest-neighbor couplings. We derive the thermodynamics of a chain of spin-$j$ $SU(2)$ magnetic atoms using a mean-field approach and determine the equilibrium states and stability conditions. The system exhibits a rich phase structure with a cascade of ferromagnetic phase transitions, their number ranging from $m$, for maximal ferromagnets, to zero, for paramagnets, depending on the relative strengths of the couplings. In the presence of impurities (modified couplings) at the ends of the chain, boundary states emerge that coexist with the paramagnetic phase or the fully ferromagnetic phase. For long chains, a continuum approximation can be taken that clarifies the structure of the phases. In the continuum description, magnetized states at temperatures lower than the critical temperature at which they appear correspond to kink solitons.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institution: City College of New York
Language: English
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221150546