The spin-Peierls chain revisited

Abstract We extend previous analytical studies of the ground-state phase diagram of a one-dimensional Heisenberg spin chain coupled to optical phonons, which for increasing spin–lattice coupling undergoes a quantum phase transition from a gapless to a gaped phase with finite lattice dimerisation. We check the analytical results against established four-block and new two-block density matrix renormalisation group (DMRG) calculations. Different finite-size scaling behaviour of the spin excitation gaps is found in the adiabatic and anti-adiabatic regimes.