Origin of model fractional Chern insulators in all topological ideal flatbands: Explicit color-entangled wave function and exact density algebra
Abstract
It is commonly believed that nonuniform Berry curvature destroys the Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman algebra and as a consequence destabilizes fractional Chern insulators. In this work, we disprove this common lore by presenting a theory for all topological ideal flatbands with nonzero Chern number C . The smooth single-particle Bloch wave function is proven to admit an exact color-entangled form as a superposition of C lowest Landau level type wave functions distinguished by boundary conditions. Including repulsive interactions, Abelian and non-Abelian model fractional Chern insulators of Halperin type are stabilized as exact zero-energy ground states no matter how nonuniform the Berry curvature is, as long as the quantum geometry is ideal and the repulsion is short-ranged. The key reason is the existence of an emergent Hilbert space in which Berry curvature can be exactly flattened by adjusting the wave function's normalization. In such space, the flatband-projected density operator obeys a closed Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman type algebra, making exact mapping to C -layered Landau levels possible. In the end, we discuss applications of the theory to moiré flatband systems, with a particular focus on the fractionalized phase and the spontaneous symmetry-breaking phase recently observed in graphene-based twisted materials.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Research
- Pub Date:
- June 2023
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.023167
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2210.13487
- Bibcode:
- 2023PhRvR...5b3167W
- Keywords:
-
- Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics;
- Condensed Matter - Strongly Correlated Electrons
- E-Print:
- Phys. Rev. Research 5, 023167 (2023)