$\mathbb Z_2$ slave-spin theory of a strongly correlated Chern insulator

TL;DR

This paper uses a ${ m Z}_2$ slave-spin approach to analyze the phase diagram of a strongly interacting topological honeycomb model, revealing various insulating phases and their topological properties.

Contribution

It introduces a ${ m Z}_2$ slave-spin method to study strongly correlated topological insulators at half filling, identifying multiple phases and their topological characteristics.

Findings

Identification of band insulator, spin-density-wave, and Mott insulator phases.

Discovery of topological varieties within the insulator and spin-density-wave phases.

Calculation of response functions for lattice modulation spectroscopy.

Abstract

We calculate the phase diagram of the topological honeycomb model in the presence of strong interactions. We concentrate on half filling and employ a ${\mathbb Z}_{2}$ slave-spin method to find a band insulator with staggered density, a spin-density-wave and a Mott insulating phase. Both the band insulator and the spin-density wave come in various topological varieties. Finally, we calculate the response function relevant for lattice modulation spectroscopy with cold atomic gases in optical lattices.