Spontaneous dimer order, excitation spectrum and quantum-phase transitions in the J1-J2 Heisenberg model

Abstract We overview some recent work and present new results on the ground-state properties and the spectrum of excitations of the two-dimensional frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet. Spontaneous dimer order is present in the quantum disordered phase of this model. We study the stability and analyse the structure of the spectrum, including the two-particle singlet excitation branch throughout the disordered phase, as well as in the vicinity of the Neel critical point. The variation in the dimer order parameter is also given, and it is argued that near the critical point it reflects the presence of the low-energy singlet bound state.