Level statistics of XXZ spin chains with a random magnetic field

Kazue Kudo, Tetsuo Deguchi

Published 2003-10-31, updated 2004-03-25Version 3

The level-spacing distribution of a spin 1/2 XXZ chain is numerically studied under random magnetic field. We show explicitly how the level statistics depends on the lattice size L, the anisotropy parameter $\Delta$, and the mean amplitude of the random magnetic field h. In the energy spectrum, quantum integrability competes with nonintegrability derived from the randomness, where the XXZ interaction is modified by the parameter $\Delta$. When $\Delta \ne 0$, the level-spacing distribution mostly shows Wigner-like behavior, while when $\Delta$=0, Poisson-like behavior appears although the system is nonintegrable due to randomness. Poisson-like behavior also appears for $\Delta \ne 0$ in the large h limit. Furthermore, the level-spacing distribution depends on the lattice size L, particularly when the random field is weak.