We present a spectral study of the evolution matrix of the totally asymmetric
exclusion process on a ring at half filling. The natural symmetries
(translation, charge conjugation combined with reflection) predict only two
fold degeneracies. However, we have found that degeneracies of higher order
also exist and, as the system size increases, higher and higher orders appear.
These degeneracies become generic in the limit of very large systems. This
behaviour can be explained by the Bethe Ansatz and suggests the presence of
hidden symmetries in the model.
Keywords: ASEP, Markov matrix, symmetries, spectral degeneracies, Bethe
Ansatz.Comment: 16 page