Latent Symmetry Induced Degeneracies

M. Röntgen, M. Pyzh, C. V. Morfonios, N. E. Palaiodimopoulos, F. K. Diakonos, and P. Schmelcher
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 180601 – Published 3 May 2021
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Degeneracies in the energy spectra of physical systems are commonly considered to be either of accidental character or induced by symmetries of the Hamiltonian. We develop an approach to explain degeneracies by tracing them back to symmetries of an isospectral effective Hamiltonian derived by subsystem partitioning. We provide an intuitive interpretation of such latent symmetries by relating them to corresponding local symmetries in the powers of the underlying Hamiltonian matrix. As an application, we relate the degeneracies induced by the rotation symmetry of a real Hamiltonian to a non-Abelian latent symmetry group. It is demonstrated that the rotational symmetries can be broken in a controlled manner while maintaining the underlying more fundamental latent symmetry. This opens up the perspective of investigating accidental degeneracies in terms of latent symmetries.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 26 November 2020
  • Revised 11 February 2021
  • Accepted 31 March 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.180601

© 2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

General PhysicsNetworksAtomic, Molecular & OpticalCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsInterdisciplinary Physics

Authors & Affiliations

M. Röntgen1, M. Pyzh1, C. V. Morfonios1, N. E. Palaiodimopoulos2, F. K. Diakonos2, and P. Schmelcher1,3

  • 1Zentrum für optische Quantentechnologien, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
  • 2Department of Physics, University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
  • 3The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 126, Iss. 18 — 7 May 2021

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×