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arXiv:2607.19694

Twisting-operator approach to identifying gaplessness in SU($N$) fermionic systems

Hao Cheng, Hang Su, Y Yao

Published Jul 22, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We propose a general necessary condition for a spinful fermion chain with SU(2) spin-rotation symmetry to be gapped. Specifically, we prove that the expectation value of a properly defined fermionic twisting operator asymptotically approaches unity in any gapped phase with finite ground-state degeneracy, with finite-size corrections bounded by $\mathscr{O}(1/L)$. Consequently, a non-unity value in the thermodynamic limit provides a sufficient criterion for identifying gapless fermion chains. We confirm this criterion using the $s$-wave Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) Hamiltonian and determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) simulations of interacting Hubbard models. We further extend the twisting-operator approach to SU($N$)-symmetric fermionic systems, where the gapped ground-state sector must be SU($N$)-singlet and $\langle \hat{\mathcal{U}}^M\rangle=1+\mathscr{O}(1/L)$ by a fermionic twisting operator $\hat{\mathcal{U}}$ with a suitably chosen integer $M$.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2607.19694

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We propose a general necessary condition for a spin chain with SO(3) spin-rotation symmetry to be gapped. Specifically, we prove that the ground state(s) of an SO(3)-symmetric gapped spin chain must be spin singlet(s), and the expectation value of a twisting operator asymptotically approaches unity in the thermodynamic limit, where finite-size corrections are inversely proportional to the system size. This theorem provides (i) supporting evidence for various conjectured gapped phases and (ii) a sufficient criterion for identifying gapless spin chains. We verify our theorem by numerical simulations for a variety of spin models and show that it offers a novel efficient way to identify gapless phases in spin chains with spin-rotation symmetry.
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The equivalence of topological indices for U(1)⋊Z2\mathrm{U}(1)\rtimes\mathbb{Z}_2U(1)⋊Z2​-symmetric quantum spin chains
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We show that the ground-state expectation value of twisting operator is a topological order parameter for U(1)- and Z_{N}-symmetric symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in one-dimensional "spin" systems-it is quantized in the thermodynamic limit and can be used to identify different SPT phases and to diagnose phase transitions among them. We prove that this (nonlocal) order parameter must take values in Nth roots of unity, and its value can be changed by a generalized lattice translation acting as an N-ality transformation connecting distinct phases. This result also implies the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) ingappability for SU(N) spins if we further impose a general translation symmetry. Furthermore, our exact result for the order parameter of SPT phases can predict a large number of LSM ingappabilities by the general lattice translation. We also apply the N-ality property to provide an efficient way to construct possible multicritical phase transitions starting from a single Hamiltonian with a unique gapped ground state.
We have discussed a consistency condition of Berry phases defined by a local gauge twist and spatial symmetries of the many-body system. It imposes a nontrivial gap closing condition under the gauge twist in both finite- and infinite-size systems. It also implies a necessary condition for the gapped and unique ground state. As for the simplest case, it predicts an inevitable gap closing in the Heisenberg chain of half-integer spins. Its relation to the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem is discussed based on the symmetries of the twisted Hamiltonian. The discussion is also extended to the (approximately) degenerate multiplet and fermion cases. It restricts the number of the states in the low energy cluster of the spectrum by the filling of the fermions. Constraints by the reflection symmetry are also discussed.