Pascal's Triangle Fractal Symmetries

ORAL

Abstract

We introduce a model of interacting bosons exhibiting an infinite collection of fractal symmetries -- termed "Pascal's triangle symmetries" -- which provides a natural U(1) generalization of a spin-(1/2) system with Sierpinski triangle fractal symmetries. The Pascal's triangle symmetry gives rise to exact degeneracies, as well as a manifold of low-energy states which are absent in the Sierpinski triangle model. Breaking the U(1) symmetry of this model to Zp, with prime integer p, yields a lattice model with a unique fractal symmetry which is generated by an operator supported on a fractal subsystem with Hausdorff dimension dH = ln(p(p+1)/2)/ln p. The Hausdorff dimension of the fractal can be probed through correlation functions at finite temperature. The phase diagram of these models at zero temperature in the presence of quantum fluctuations, as well as the potential physical construction of the U(1) model are discussed.

*Cenke Xu is supported by NSF Grant No. DMR-1920434, and the Simons Investigator program. Shang Liu is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation under Grant No. GBMF8690 and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSF PHY-1748958.

Publication: N.E. Myerson-Jain, S. Liu, W. Ji, C. Xu, S. Vijay, "Pascal's Triangle Fractal Symmetries", arXiv: 2110.02237.

Presenters

  • Nayan E Myerson-Jain

    • University of California, Santa Barbara

Authors

  • Nayan E Myerson-Jain

    • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Shang Liu

    • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
  • Wenjie Ji

    • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Cenke Xu

    • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Sagar Vijay

    • University of California, Santa Barbara