  The magnetic behaviour of the low-dimensional Vanadium-oxides Sr2V3O9 and
Ba2V3O9 was investigated by means of magnetic susceptibility and specific heat
measurements. In both compounds, the results can be very well described by an
S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain with an intrachain exchange of J = 82
K and J = 94 K in Sr2V3O9 and Ba2V3O9, respectively. In Sr2V3O9,
antiferromagnetic ordering at T_N = 5.3 K indicate a weak interchain exchange
of the order of J_perp ~ 2 K. In contrast, no evidence for magnetic order was
found in Ba2V3O9 down to 0.5 K, pointing to an even smaller interchain
coupling. In both compounds, we observe a pronounced Curie-like increase of the
susceptibility below 30 K, which we tentatively attribute to a staggered field
effect induced by the applied magnetic field. Results of LDA calculations
support the quasi one-dimensional character and indicate that in Sr2V3O9, the
magnetic chain is perpendicular to the structural one with the magnetic
exchange being transferred through VO4 tetrahedra.
