We consider the isotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg spin chain weakly perturbed by a local translationally- and SU(2)-invariant perturbation. Starting from the local integrals of motion of the unperturbed model, we modify them in order to obtain quasi-conserved integrals of motion (charges) for the perturbed model. Such quasi-conserved quantities are believed to be responsible for the existence of the prethermalization phase at intermediate timescales. We find that for a sufficiently local perturbation only the first few integrals of motion can be promoted to the quasi-conserved charges, whereas higher-order integrals of motion do not survive.
By appropriately perturbing a critical transverse-field Ising chain away from its critical point, the system can develop a finite correlation length with a characteristic purely massive spectrum, whose ratios and correlations are precisely described by an integrable field theory and an infinite set of integrals of motion corresponding to the
E8 Lie algebra. In this work, we report on experimental observation of a characteristic massive spectrum close to transverse field-induced dimensional reduction in a quasi-two-dimensional quantum magnet Cu
2(OH)
3Br, providing evidence for an emergent
E8 symmetry and the corresponding excitations of bound states in the sublattice of its ferromagnetic chains. These results demonstrate the power of integrable field theory in describing emergent many-body quantum critical phenomena in condensed matter systems.