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Topological Flat Bands and Fractional Chern Insulators in Rashba Systems with Tunable Superlattice Potentials
Bokai Liang1, Wei Qin1,2, Zhenyu Zhang2,3
1University of Science and Technology of China, Department of Physics, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
Abstract:
Fractional Chern insulators are interaction-driven topological states that realize the lattice analog of the fractional quantum Hall effect without external magnetic fields. Here we propose a programmable platform for engineering topological flat bands by combining a Zeeman field with a tunable electrostatic superlattice potential in a Rashba spin-orbit-coupled thin film. The Zeeman field generates a nearly flat segment of the Rashba band, which is isolated by the superlattice potential into a flat band with Chern number C=1. Using many-body exact diagonalization, we show that this band supports fractional Chern insulators at filling factors n=1/3 and 2/3, both of which remain robust over broad parameter ranges. We further identify realistic material candidates and the corresponding device conditions that enable experimental realization. These results establish a versatile and experimentally accessible platform for engineering topological flat bands and exploring correlated topological phases.
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