Spectral Gaps of Quantum Hall Systems with Interactions

A two-dimensional quantum Hall system without disorder for a wide class of interactions including any two-body interaction with finite range is studied by using the Lieb–Schultz–Mattis method [Ann. Phys. (N.Y.)16:407 (1961)]. The model is defined on an infinitely long strip with a fixed, large width, and the Hilbert space is restricted to the lowest (n_max+1) Landau levels with a large integer n_max. We prove that, for a noninteger filling of the Landau levels, either (i) there is a symmetry breaking at zero temperature or (ii) there is only one infinite-volume ground state with a gapless excitation. We also prove the following two theorems: (a) If a pure infinite-volume ground state has a nonzero excitation gap for a noninteger filling , then a translational symmetry breaking occurs at zero temperature. (b) Suppose that there is no non-translationally invariant infinite-volume ground state. Then, if a pure infinite-volume ground state has a nonzero excitation gap, the filling factor must be equal to a rational number. Here the ground state is allowed to have a periodic structure which is a consequence of the translational symmetry breaking. We also discuss the relation between our results and the quantized Hall conductance, and phenomenologically explain why odd denominators of filling fractions giving the quantized Hall conductance are favored exclusively.