We consider the six-vertex model on an N × N square lattice with the domain wall boundary conditions. Boundary one-point correlation functions of the model are expressed as determinants of N × N matrices, generalizing the known result for the partition function. In the free fermion case the explicit answers are obtained. The introduced correlation functions are closely related to the problem of enumeration of alternating sign matrices and domino tilings.

We investigate the propagation of spin excitations in a one-dimensional (1D) ferromagnetic Bose gas. While the spectrum of longitudinal spin waves in this system is sound-like, the dispersion of transverse spin excitations is quadratic making a direct application of the Luttinger Liquid (LL) theory impossible. By using a combination of different analytic methods we derive the large time asymptotic behavior of the spin-spin dynamical correlation function for strong interparticle repulsion. The result has an unusual structure associated with a crossover from the regime of trapped spin wave to an open regime and does not have analogues in known low-energy universality classes of quantum 1D systems.

We investigate weakly coupled spin-1/2 ladders in a magnetic field. The work is motivated by recent experiments on the compound (C 5 H 12 N) 2 CuBr 4 (BPCB). We use a combination of numerical and analytical methods, in particular, the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) technique, to explore the phase diagram and the excitation spectra of such a system. We give detailed results on the temperature dependence of the magnetization and the specific heat, and the magnetic-field dependence of the nuclear-magnetic-resonance relaxation rate of single ladders. For coupled ladders, treating the weak interladder coupling within a mean-field or quantum Monte Carlo approach, we compute the transition temperature of triplet condensation and its corresponding antiferromagnetic order parameter. Existing experimental measurements are discussed and compared to our theoretical results. Furthermore, we compute, using time-dependent DMRG, the dynamical correlations of a single spin ladder. Our results allow to describe directly the inelastic neutron scattering cross section up to high energies. We focus on the evolution of the spectra with the magnetic field and compare their behavior for different couplings. The characteristic features of the spectra are interpreted using different analytical approaches such as the mapping onto a spin chain, a Luttinger liquid or onto a t-J model. For values of parameters for which such measurements exist, we compare our results to inelastic neutron scattering experiments on the compound BPCB and find excellent agreement. We make additional predictions for the high-energy part of the spectrum that are potentially testable in future experiments.