Applications of the coherent state representation in the theory of magnetism: II. Helical spin configurations

In a previous paper, the coherent state representation of spin wave states was used to derive the low temperature expansion for the free energy of the Heisenberg model of a ferromagnet. In this paper, the same formalism is applied to anisotropic systems which are usually described semiclassically. The coherent state parameters are shown to be ideally suited for describing certain of the resulting helical spin configurations. The coherent state approach emphasizes the analogy of these states to superfluid boson systems. A model spin Hamiltonian appropriate to Erbium is chosen and discussed in this light. In particular, the transition in a transverse magnetic field from the ground state cone configuration to a fan configuration, the stability and possible metastability of these states and the fluctuations about them are investigated. Numerical estimates show at least qualitative agreement with experiment.