6 N ov 1 99 8 Intermediate temperature dynamics of one - dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets

We present a general theory for the intermediate temperature (T ) properties of Heisenberg antiferromagnets of spin-S ions on p-leg ladders, valid for 2Sp even or odd. Following an earlier proposal for 2Sp even (Damle and Sachdev, Phys. Rev. B 57, 8307), we argue that an integrable, classical, continuum model of a fixed-length, 3-vector applies over an intermediate temperature range; this range becomes very wide for moderate and large values of 2Sp. The coupling constants of the effective model are known exactly in terms of the energy gap above the ground state ∆ (for 2Sp even), or a crossover scale T0 (for 2Sp odd). Analytic and numeric results for dynamic and transport properties are obtained, including some exact results for the spin-wave damping. Numerous quantitative predictions for neutron scattering and NMR experiments are made. A general discussion on the nature of T > 0 transport in integrable systems is also presented: an exact solution of a toy model proves that diffusion can exist in integrable systems, provided proper care is taken in approaching the thermodynamic limit. Typeset using REVTEX 1