Exact dynamical and partial symmetries

We discuss a hierarchy of broken symmetries with special emphasis on partial dynamical symmetries (PDS). The latter correspond to a situation in which a non-invariant Hamiltonian accommodates a subset of solvable eigenstates with good symmetry, while other eigenstates are mixed. We present an algorithm for constructing Hamiltonians with this property and demonstrate the relevance of the PDS notion to nuclear spectroscopy, to quantum phase transitions and to mixed systems with coexisting regularity and chaos.