Symmetry-protected topological orders of one-dimensional spin systems with D[subscript 2]+T symmetry

Abstract

In Liu et al. [ Phys. Rev. B 84 075135 (2011)] we studied eight gapped symmetric quantum phases in S=1 spin chains/ladders which respect a discrete spin rotation D[subscript 2]⊂SO(3) and time reversal T symmetries. In this paper, using a generalized approach, we study all the 16 possible gapped symmetric quantum phases of one-dimensional (1D) integer spin systems with D[subscript 2]+T symmetry. Those phases are beyond Landau symmetry breaking theory and cannot be characterized by local order parameters since they do not break any symmetry. They correspond to 16 symmetry protected topological (SPT) orders. We show that all the 16 SPT orders can be fully characterized by the physical properties of the symmetry protected degenerate boundary states at the ends of a chain segment. So we can measure and distinguish all the 16 SPT orders experimentally. We also show that all these SPT orders can be realized in S=1 spin chain or spin ladder models. The gapped symmetric phases protected by subgroups of D[subscript 2]+T are also studied. Again, all these phases can be distinguished by physically measuring their end “spins.”