Finite-size energy levels of the superintegrable chiral Potts model

In the solution of the superintegrable chiral Potts model special polynomials related to the representation theory of the Onsager algebra play a central role. We derive approximate analytic formulae for the zeros of particular polynomials which determine sets of low-lying energy eigenvalues of the chiral Potts quantum chain. These formulae allow the analytic calculation of the leading finite-size corrections to the energy eigenvalues without resorting to a numerical determination of the zeros.