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Degenerate eigenvalues for Hamiltonians with no obvious symmetries

Atomic Physics 2007-05-23 v2

Abstract

Certain Hamiltonians based on two coupled quantum mechanical spins exhibit degenerate eigenvalues despite having no obvious non-abelian symmetries. Operators acting to permute the degenerate states do not have a simple form when expressed as polynomials of the generators of rotations for the respective spins. As observed in [1], one such Hamiltonian helps explain resonances in the spin relaxation rate of optically pumped Rb_2, as a function of applied magnetic field. We give an explanation of why the degeneracies exist, based on properties of the commutator and anti-commutator of the Hamiltonian and its image under magnetic field reversal.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.physics/0312118,
  title  = {Degenerate eigenvalues for Hamiltonians with no obvious symmetries},
  author = {Steven S. Gubser and Robert K. Bradley},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0312118},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

5 pages, 1 figure

R2 v1 2026-07-22T18:58:01.383Z