Thermodynamics of impurities in the anisotropic Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain

The thermodynamics of finite open antiferromagnetic XXZ chains is studied using field theory, Bethe Ansatz and quantum Monte Carlo methods. For the susceptibility a parameter-free result as a function of the number of sites L and temperature T beyond the scaling limit is derived. The limiting cases T/J >> 1/L (J being the exchange constant), where the boundary correction shows a logarithmically suppressed Curie behaviour, and T/J << 1/L, where a crossover to the ground state behaviour takes place, are discussed in detail. Based on this analysis we present a simple formula for the averaged susceptibility of a spin-1/2 chain doped with non-magnetic impurities. We show that the effective Curie constant has a highly non-trivial temperature dependence and shows scaling in the low-temperature limit. Finally, corrections due to intra- and interchain couplings and implications for experiments on Sr_2 Cu_{1-x}Pd_x O_{3+\delta} and related compounds are discussed.