Dichotomy theorem separating complete integrability and non-integrability of isotropic spin chains

Abstract

We investigate the integrability and non-integrability of isotropic spin chains with nearest-neighbor interaction with general spin $S$ in terms of the presence or absence of local conserved quantities. We prove a dichotomy theorem that whether a single quantity is zero or not sharply separates two scenarios: (i) this system has $k$-local conserved quantities for all $k$ (completely integrable), or (ii) this system has no nontrivial local conserved quantity (non-integrable). This result excludes the possibility of an intermediate system with some but not all local conserved quantities, which solves in the affirmative the Grabowski-Mathieu conjecture. This theorem also serves as a complete classification of integrability and non-integrability for $S\leq 13.5$, suggesting that all the integrable models are in the scope of the Yang-Baxter equation.