  The ground state and the thermodynamics of a spin-1/2 asymmetric diamond
Ising--Heisenberg chain are considered. For the $XYZ$ anisotropic Heisenberg
interaction, the exact calculations of the free energy, entropy, heat capacity,
magnetization, and magnetic susceptibility are performed using the method of
decoration-iteration transformation. In the case of antiferromagnetic
interactions (Ising and $XXZ$ anisotropic Heisenberg ones), the ground state,
magnetization process, temperature dependence of the magnetization, magnetic
susceptibility, and heat capacity are investigated. The influence of geometric
frustration and quantum fluctuations on these characteristics is studied.
