Spin Chains with Periodic Array of Impurities

We investigate the spin chain model composed of periodic array of two kinds of spins $S_1$ and $S_2$, which allows us to study the spin chains with impurities as well as the alternating spin chains in a unified fashion. By using the Lieb-Shultz-Mattis theorem, we first study the model rigorously, and then by mapping it to the non-linear sigma model, we extensively investigate low-energy properties with particular emphasis on the competition between the massive and massless phases.