From tunnels to towers: Quantum scars from Lie algebras and q-deformed Lie algebras

Abstract

We present a general symmetry-based framework for obtaining many-body Hamiltonians with scarred eigenstates that do not obey the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Our models are derived from parent Hamiltonians with a non-Abelian (or q-deformed) symmetry, whose eigenspectra are organized as degenerate multiplets that transform as irreducible representations of the symmetry (“tunnels”). We show that large classes of perturbations break the symmetry, but in a manner that preserves a particular low-entanglement multiplet of states, thereby giving generic, thermal spectra with a shadow of the broken symmetry in the form of scars. The generators of the Lie algebra furnish operators with “spectrum-generating algebras” that can be used to lift the degeneracy of the scar states and promote them to equally spaced “towers.” Our framework applies to several known models with scars, but we also introduce models with scars that transform as irreducible representations of symmetries such as SU(3) and q-deformed SU(2), significantly generalizing the types of systems known to harbor this phenomenon. Additionally, we present examples of generalized Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) models with scar states that do not transform in an irreducible representation of the relevant symmetry. These are derived from parent Hamiltonians with enhanced symmetries, and bring AKLT-type models into our framework.