Solution of the antiferromagnetic Ising model with multisite interaction on a zigzag ladder.

We consider the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Ising model with multisite interaction in an external magnetic field on an infinite zigzag ladder. The model is solved exactly by using the transfer matrix method. Using the exact expression for the total magnetization per site, the magnetic properties of the model are investigated in detail. The model exhibits the formation of magnetization plateaus for low temperatures, and it is shown that their properties depend strongly on the strength of the multisite interaction. All possible ground states of the model are found and discussed. The existence of nontrivial singular ground states is proven and exact explicit expressions for them are found. The macroscopic degeneracy of the ground states is investigated and discussed.