Magnetization and magnetic phase diagrams of a spin-1/2 ferrimagnetic diamond chain at low temperature*

We used the Jordan–Wigner transform and the invariant eigenoperator method to study the magnetic phase diagram and the magnetization curve of the spin-1/2 alternating ferrimagnetic diamond chain in an external magnetic field at finite temperature. The magnetization versus external magnetic field curve exhibits a 1/3 magnetization plateau at absolute zero and finite temperatures, and the width of the 1/3 magnetization plateau was modulated by tuning the temperature and the exchange interactions. Three critical magnetic field intensities H CB, H CE and H CS were obtained, in which the H CB and H CE correspond to the appearance and disappearance of the 1/3 magnetization plateau, respectively, and the higher H CS correspond to the appearance of fully polarized magnetization plateau of the system. The energies of elementary excitation ℏ ω σ,k (σ = 1, 2, 3) present the extrema of zero at the three critical magnetic fields at 0 K, i.e., [ℏ ω 3,k (H CB)]min = 0, [ℏ ω 2,k (H CE)]max = 0 and [ℏ ω 2,k (H CS)]min = 0, and the magnetic phase diagram of magnetic field versus different exchange interactions at 0 K was established by the above relationships. According to the relationships between the system’s magnetization curve at finite temperatures and the critical magnetic field intensities, the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram was drawn. It was observed that if the magnetic phase diagram shows a three-phase critical point, which is intersected by the ferrimagnetic phase, the ferrimagnetic plateau phase, and the Luttinger liquid phase, the disappearance of the 1/3 magnetization plateau would inevitably occur. However, the 1/3 magnetization plateau would not disappear without the three-phase critical point. The appearance of the 1/3 magnetization plateau in the low temperature region is the macroscopic manifestations of quantum effect.