Magnetic light scattering in low-dimensional quantum spin systems

An overview of one- and two-dimensional quantum spin systems based on transition-metal oxides and halides of current interest is given, such as spin-Peierls, spin-dimer, geometrically frustrated and ladder systems. The most significant and outstanding contributions of magnetic light scattering to the understanding of these materials are discussed and compared to results of other spectroscopies and thermodynamic measurements. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.