Fractional Quantum-Hall Liquid Spontaneously Generated by Strongly Correlated t2g Electrons

Jörn W. F. Venderbos, Stefanos Kourtis, Jeroen van den Brink, and Maria Daghofer
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 126405 – Published 21 March 2012
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Abstract

For topologically nontrivial and very narrow bands, Coulomb repulsion between electrons has been predicted to give rise to a spontaneous fractional quantum-Hall (FQH) state in the absence of magnetic fields. Here we show that strongly correlated electrons in a t2g-orbital system on a triangular lattice self-organize into a spin-chiral magnetic ordering pattern that induces precisely the required topologically nontrivial and flat bands. This behavior is very robust and does not rely on fine-tuning. In order to go beyond mean field and to study the impact of longer-range interactions, we map the low-energy electronic states onto an effective one-band model. Exact diagonalization is then used to establish signatures of a spontaneous FQH state.

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  • Received 27 September 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.126405

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Jörn W. F. Venderbos, Stefanos Kourtis, Jeroen van den Brink, and Maria Daghofer

  • Institute for Theoretical Solid State Physics, IFW Dresden, 01171 Dresden, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 12 — 23 March 2012

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