The Jordan–Wigner transformation represents a one-dimensional spin one-half chain by fermions with a parity string preceding each site. With , one has and . The string converts the off-site canonical anticommutation relations into commuting spin operators. Adjacent exchange terms become quadratic fermion expressions, while a periodic end bond depends on global fermion parity.
Use spin one-half states with , so and . At , every ferromagnetic bond has its lowest energy when adjacent spins agree. On the connected periodic chain the normalized ground states are
where . Their span is the two-dimensional ground-state subspace; any normalized superposition is another ground state. They are exchanged by the global spin-flip discrete symmetry generated by .
As , the field dominates and selects
The limiting polarized state is unique. At large finite , exchange admixes virtual spin flips, so the product state is the limiting wavefunction rather than an exact finite-field eigenstate. The bulk expansion below gives . The exact twofold degeneracy stated at should be distinguished from thermodynamic spontaneous symmetry breaking in the ordered phase: a finite chain at nonzero field can have a split pair of symmetry eigenstates.