Homogeneous linear intrinsic constraints in the stationary manifold of a $G$-invariant potential

Abstract

Given a $G$-invariant potential $\mathcal{V}$ of a scalar multiplet $\varphi$, there may exist a set of homogenous linear equations that constrain the components of a stationary point of $\mathcal{V}$ independently of the coefficients of the terms in $\mathcal{V}$. We call them homogeneous linear intrinsic constraints (HLICs). HLICs in a stationary point manifest as HLICs in the corresponding vacuum alignment of $\varphi$, which plays a central role in predictive phenomenological models. We discover that a group $\tilde{H}$ generates HLICs if the terms in $\mathcal{V}$ satisfy a condition, which we call the compatibility condition. In this paper, we also develop a procedure, which involves splitting $\mathcal{V}$ into smaller parts, to establish the existence of specific stationary points using arguments based on symmetries without the need for explicitly extremizing the potential. Using this procedure, we obtain $\tilde{H}$ as a direct product of the symmetry groups associated with the various irreducible multiplets (irreps) in $\varphi$. This results from considering the potentials of the irreps separately and verifying if the cross terms are compatible with $\tilde{H}$.