426 Ch.

8 Ferromagnetism in Hubbard Models

to a total spin S = N / 2 . This could be called saturated ferromagnetism,

but we will want to admit also a partial polarization of the band, and
call the system ferromagnetic if the total spin is an extensive quantity:
S 0: L . However, adopting this broad definition necessitates a careful
distinction between ferrimagnetism and “real” ferromagnetism.

8.2.1 Lieb’s Ferrimagnetism

Consider bipartite lattices which can be divided into two sublattices
A and B in such a manner that the hopping t,, # 0 only if z and y
belong to different sublattices. The number of sites in the sublattices
are denoted by ( A (and IBI; they may be unequal. The Hubbard U is
the same everywhere: U, = U > 0. Then Lieb’s theorem [243] says that
the ground state of the half-filled Hubbard model ( N = L ) is unique
+
apart from a trivial (2s 1)-fold spin degeneracy, and it has the total
spin S = - lBll/2.
The nature of the ground state becomes clear in the limit of large U
where the Hubbard model can be transformed into a nearest-neighbour
antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model. A spin at an A site will want to be
antiparallel to the spin of its B-site neighbours. Since the number of A-
sites differs from the number of B-sites, the fully antiparallel alignment
of A- and B-spins leads to the total spin stated in Lieb’s theorem7.
Thus the microscopic origin is the same as for antiferrornagnetism, and
the reason for a non-zero total spin is merely geometrical: IAl # IBI.
Hence, we will refer to this kind of ordering as “Lieb’s ferrimagnetism”,
and hold it fundamentally different from “true” ferromagnetism which
is associated with parallel nearest-neighbour correlations.
Note that for IAl = IBJ,the theorem says that the ground state is a
singlet. In the thermodynamic limit, this may be compatible with the
arising of antiferromagnetic long-range order (see Sec. 6.3) but this is
not necessarily so: the one-dimensional Hubbard model offers a counter-
example.

’Taking all spins t on A , and 4 on B gives S” = (IAI - IB1)/2. Naturally, the

ground state is not identical to this classical configuration but it is lying in the
subspace generated by acting with the spin-flip terms of the Heisenberg Hamiltonian
on this starting state.