Pseudospin symmetry in supersymmetric quantum mechanics: Schrödinger equations

The origin of pseudospin symmetry (PSS) and its breaking mechanism are explored by combining supersymmetry (SUSY) quantum mechanics, perturbation theory, and the similarity renormalization group (SRG) method. The Schrödinger equation is taken as an example, corresponding to the lowest-order approximation in transforming a Dirac equation into a diagonal form by using the SRG. It is shown that while the spin-symmetry-conserving term appears in the single-particle Hamiltonian $H$, the PSS-conserving term appears naturally in its SUSY partner Hamiltonian $H$. The eigenstates of Hamiltonians $H$ and $H$ are exactly one-to-one identical except for the so-called intruder states. In such a way, the origin of PSS deeply hidden in $H$ can be traced in its SUSY partner Hamiltonian $H$. The perturbative nature of PSS in the present potential without spin-orbit term is demonstrated by the perturbation calculations, and the PSS-breaking term can be regarded as a very small perturbation on the exact PSS limits. A general tendency that the pseudospin-orbit splittings become smaller with increasing single-particle energies can also be interpreted in an explicit way.