Cross-over from an incommensurate singlet spiral state with a vanishingly small spin-gap to a valence bond solid state in dimerized frustrated ferromagnetic spin-chains

Motivated by the magnetic properties of the spin-chain compounds LiCuSbO${}_4$$\equiv$LiSbCuO${}_4$ and Rb${}_2$Cu${}_2$Mo${}_3$O${}_{12}$, we study the ground state of the Heisenberg chain with dimerized nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic (FM)($J_1,J_1^{\mathrm{\prime }}<0$) and next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic ($J_2>0$) couplings. Using the density-matrix renormalization group technique and spin-wave theory we find a first-order transition between a fully-polarized FM and an incommensurate spiral state at $2\alpha =\beta \mathrm{/}(1+\beta )$, where $\alpha$ is the frustration ratio $J_2\mathrm{/}\mathrm{\mid }{J}_1\mathrm{\mid }$ and $\beta$ the degree of dimerization $J_1^{\mathrm{\prime }}\mathrm{/}{J}_1$.In the singlet spiral state the spin-gap is vanishingly small in the vicinity of the FM transition, corresponding to a situation of LiCuSbO${}_4$. For larger $\alpha$, corresponding to Rb${}_2$Cu${}_2$Mo${}_3$O${}_{12}$, and smaller $\beta$ there is a crossover from this frustration induced incommensurate state to an Affleck-Lieb-Kennedy-Tasaki-type valence bond solid state with substantial spin-gaps.