  We consider a spin-1/2 XY chain in a transverse (z) field with multi-site
interactions. The additional terms introduced into the Hamiltonian involve
products of spin components related to three adjacent sites. A Jordan-Wigner
transformation leads to a simple bilinear Fermi form for the resulting
Hamiltonian and hence the spin model admits a rigorous analysis. We point out
the close relationships between several variants of the model which were
discussed separately in previous studies. The ground-state phases (ferromagnet
and two kinds of spin liquid) of the model are reflected in the dynamic
structure factors of the spin chains, which are the main focus in this study.
First we consider the zz dynamic structure factor reporting for this quantity a
closed-form expression and analyzing the properties of the two-fermion
(particle-hole) excitation continuum which governs the dynamics of transverse
spin component fluctuations and of some other local operator fluctuations. Then
we examine the xx dynamic structure factor which is governed by many-fermion
excitations, reporting both analytical and numerical results. We discuss some
easily recognized features of the dynamic structure factors which are
signatures for the presence of the three-site interactions.
