Magnetic field induced ordering in quasi-one-dimensional quantum magnets

Three-dimensional magnetic ordering transitions are studied theoretically in strongly anisotropic quantum magnets. An external magnetic field can drive quasi-one-dimensional subsystems with a spin gap into a gapless regime, thus inducing long-range three-dimensional magnetic ordering due to weak residual magnetic coupling between the subsystems. Compounds with higher spin degrees of freedom, such as N-leg spin-1/2 ladders, are shown to have cascades of ordering transitions. At high magnetic fields, zero-point fluctuations within the quasi-1D subsystems are suppressed, causing quantum corrections to the ordering temperature to be reduced. Received 24 March 2000