Partial dynamical symmetries in quantum systems

We discuss the the notion of a partial dynamical symmetry (PDS), for which a prescribed symmetry is obeyed by only a subset of solvable eigenstates, while other eigenstates are strongly mixed. We present an explicit construction of Hamiltonians with this property, including higher-order terms, and portray their significance for spectroscopy and shape-phase transitions in nuclei. The occurrence of both a single PDS, relevant to stable structures, and of several PDSs, relevant to coexistence phenomena, are considered.