Abstract
We present a numerical study of the magnetization process of frustrated quantum spin-S chains with S
=1,3/2,2 as well as the classical limit. Using the exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization
techniques, we provide evidence that a plateau at one third of the saturation magnetization exists in the
magnetization curve of frustrated spin-S chains with S1/2. Similar to the case of S=1/2, this plateau state
breaks the translational symmetry of the Hamiltonian and realizes an up-up-down pattern in the spin component
parallel to the external field. Our study further shows that this plateau exists both in the cases of an
isotropic exchange and in the easy-axis regime for spin-S=1, 3/2, and 2, but is absent in classical frustrated
spin chains with isotropic interactions. We discuss the magnetic phase diagram of frustrated spin-1 and spin-
3/2 chains as well as other emergent features of the magnetization process such as kink singularities, jumps,
and even-odd effects. A quantitative comparison of the one-third plateau in the easy-axis regime between
spin-1 and spin-3 /2 chains on the one hand and the classical frustrated chain on the other hand indicates that
the critical frustration and the phase boundaries of this state rapidly approach the classical result as the spin S
increases.
