Symmetry protection of topological phases in one-dimensional quantum spin systems

We discuss the characterization and stability of the Haldane phase in integer spin chains on the basis of simple, physical arguments. We find that an odd-S Haldane phase is a topologically nontrivial phase which is protected by any one of the following three global symmetries: (i) the dihedral group of π rotations about the x, y, and z axes, (ii) time-reversal symmetry Sx ^,y ^,z→-Sx ^,y ^,z, and (iii) link inversion symmetry (reflection about a bond center), consistent with previous results. On the other hand, an even-S Haldane phase is not topologically protected (i.e., it is indistinct from a trivial, site-factorizable phase). We show some numerical evidence that supports these claims, using concrete examples.