Hagiwara, M.; Regnault, L.P.; Zheludev, A.; Stunault, A.; Metoki, N.; Suzuki, T.; Suga, S.; Kakurai, K.; Koike, Y.; Vorderwisch, P.; Chung, J.-H.: Spin excitations in an anisotropic bond-alternating quantum S=1 chain in a magnetic field: contrast to Haldane spin chains. Physical Review Letters 94 (2005), p. 177202/1-4
10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.177202
Abstract:
Inelastic neutron scattering experiments on the S=1 quasi-one-dimensional bond-alternating antiferromagnetic NTENP have been performed under magnetic fields below and above a critical field Hc at which the energy gap closes. Normal field dependence of Zeeman splitting of the excited triplet modes below Hc has been observed, but the highest mode is unusually small and smears out with increasing field. This can be explained by an interaction with a low-lying two magnon continuum at q||=pi that is present in dimerized chains but absent in uniform ones. Above Hc, we find only the excited mode, in stark contrast with three massive excitations previously observed in the structurally similar Haldane-gap material NDMAP.