6.

1 Ferromagnetic Heisenberg Model 265

where J < 0, and the summation extends over nearest neighbour pairs.
The uniquely convenient feature of the model is that it has an exactly
known ground state, and there can be no question about the existence of
long range order at T = 0. The spectrum of single-particle excitations,
and thermal properties at low temperatures, can be worked out with
relative ease.
The model can be thought to describe ferromagnetic Mott insulators
like EuO or K2CuF4. From our previous studies, we are aware that the
real difficulty lies in arriving at (6.3)as the effective Hamiltonian of an
interacting electron system: FM superexchange is relatively rare, and
FM kinetic exchange arises from an interplay of spin and orbital degrees
of freedom (see Sec. 5.4).

6.1.1 Ground State: Symmetry Breaking

Let us consider (6.3)for a general spin ISj( = S. The total energy is the
sum of the bond energies Eu (i and j are nearest neighbours)

&j = JSi * sj = ZJ [ ( S+~ sj12- S? - sj21

= I J ~ S ( S + 1) - ,(Sj
IJI + sjI2 (6.4)

which can be minimized by letting the two spins be parallel: JSj+ SjJ=
2s. Thus the minimum of the bond energy is

This energy is obtained if both spins are "pointing up": S[ = Sf = S.

Since the Hamiltonian is the sum of bond terms, it is clear that for
the ground state energy of the lattice

holds, where L is the number of the lattice sites, and z is the coor-
dination number. If we find a state for which the equality holds then
we have found the exact ground state - or, at least, one of the exact