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arXiv:2603.17006

Luttinger's Theorem Violation and Green's Function Topological Invariants in a Fractional Chern Insulator

Anton A. Markov, Andrey M. Nikishin, Nigel R. Cooper, Nathan Goldman, Lucila Peralta Gavensky

cond-mat.str-elcond-mat.mes-hallcond-mat.quant-gasquant-phSubmitted Mar 17, 2026• Announced Mar 19, 2026
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Abstract

Luttinger's theorem constrains the particle density of interacting fermions through global properties of the single-particle Green's function, and its violation signals a breakdown of the identification between the quantized Hall response and the Green-function-based Ishikawa-Matsuyama invariant. This phenomenon becomes especially compelling in strongly correlated topological phases, such as fractional Chern insulators, where fractionalized quasiparticles lack an adiabatic connection to electrons, raising the question of how Green's-function-based topological invariants manifest in such phases. Using exact diagonalization of the fermionic Harper-Hofstadter-Hubbard model, we compute bulk single-particle Green's functions deep inside a fractional Chern insulating phase and directly evaluate the Luttinger count, its possible correction (the Luttinger integral), and the Ishikawa-Matsuyama invariant $N_3[\mathrm{G}]$. We demonstrate a clear violation of Luttinger's theorem and show that the fractional nature of the many-body Chern number is encoded in the Středa response of the Luttinger integral, while the integer invariant $N_3[\mathrm{G}]$ arises from the Středa response of the Luttinger count. We also analytically prove that $N_3[\mathrm{G}]$ is fully determined by the Luttinger count together with the Chern number of the occupied Bloch band, upon neglecting Bloch-band mixing. Finally, we propose an experimental protocol to extract all Green-function-based topological invariants from local density-of-states measurements, experimentally accessible in fractional quantum Hall systems.

Comments
18 pages, 11 figures, includes Appendices

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Luttinger's theorem constrains the particle density of interacting fermions through global properties of the single-particle Green's function, and its violation signals a breakdown of the identification between the quantized Hall response and the Green-function-based Ishikawa-Matsuyama invariant. This phenomenon becomes especially compelling in strongly correlated topological phases, such as fractional Chern insulators, where fractionalized quasiparticles lack an adiabatic connection to electrons, raising the question of how Green's-function-based topological invariants manifest in such phases. Using exact diagonalization of the fermionic Harper-Hofstadter-Hubbard model, we compute bulk single-particle Green's functions deep inside a fractional Chern insulating phase and directly evaluate the Luttinger count, its possible correction (the Luttinger integral), and the Ishikawa-Matsuyama invariant N3[G]N_3[\mathrm{G}]N3​[G]. We demonstrate a clear violation of Luttinger's theorem and show that the fractional nature of the many-body Chern number is encoded in the Středa response of the Luttinger integral, while the integer invariant N3[G]N_3[\mathrm{G}]N3​[G] arises from the Středa response of the Luttinger count. We also analytically prove that N3[G]N_3[\mathrm{G}]N3​[G] is fully determined by the Luttinger count together with the Chern number of the occupied Bloch band, upon neglecting Bloch-band mixing. Finally, we propose an experimental protocol to extract all Green-function-based topological invariants from local density-of-states measurements, experimentally accessible in fractional quantum Hall systems.
Based solely on the analytical properties of the single-particle Green's function of fermions at finite temperatures, we show that the generalized Luttinger theorem inherently possesses topological aspects. The topological interpretation of the generalized Luttinger theorem can be introduced because (i) the Luttinger volume is represented as the winding number of the single-particle Green's function and, thus, (ii) the deviation of the theorem, expressed with a ratio between the interacting and noninteracting single-particle Green's functions, is also represented as the winding number of this ratio. The formulation based on the winding number naturally leads to two types of the generalized Luttinger theorem. Exploring two examples of single-band translationally invariant interacting electrons, i.e., simple metal and Mott insulator, we show that the first type falls into the original statement for Fermi liquids given by Luttinger, where poles of the single-particle Green's function appear at the chemical potential, while the second type corresponds to the extended one for nonmetallic cases with no Fermi surface such as insulators and superconductors generalized by Dzyaloshinskii, where zeros of the single-particle Green's function appear at the chemical potential. This formulation also allows us to derive a sufficient condition for the validity of the Luttinger theorem of the first type by applying the Rouche's theorem in complex analysis as an inequality. Moreover, we can rigorously prove in a nonperturbative manner, without assuming any detail of a microscopic Hamiltonian, that the generalized Luttinger theorem of both types is valid for generic interacting fermions as long as the particle-hole symmetry is preserved. Finally, we show that the winding number of the single-particle Green's function can also be associated with the distribution function of quasiparticles, and therefore the number of quasiparticles is equal to the Luttinger volume. This implies that the fundamental hypothesis of the Landau's Fermi-liquid theory, the number of fermions being equal to that of quasiparticles, is guaranteed if the Luttinger theorem is valid since the theorem states that the number of fermions is equal to the Luttinger volume. All these general statements are made possible because of the finding that the Luttinger volume is expressed as the winding number of the single-particle Green's function at finite temperatures, for which the complex analysis can be readily exploited.
Realizing strongly correlated topological phases of ultracold gases is a central goal for ongoing experiments. While fractional quantum Hall states could soon be implemented in small atomic ensembles, detecting their signatures in few-particle settings remains a fundamental challenge. In this work, we numerically analyze the center-of-mass Hall drift of a small ensemble of hardcore bosons, initially prepared in the ground state of the Harper-Hofstadter-Hubbard model in a box potential. By monitoring the Hall drift upon release, for a wide range of magnetic flux values, we identify an emergent Hall plateau compatible with a fractional Chern insulator state: The extracted Hall conductivity approaches a fractional value determined by the many-body Chern number, while the width of the plateau agrees with the spectral and topological properties of the prepared ground state. Besides, a direct application of Streda's formula indicates that such Hall plateaus can also be directly obtained from static density-profile measurements. Our calculations suggest that fractional Chern insulators can be detected in cold-atom experiments, using available detection methods.
Realizing strongly-correlated topological phases of ultracold gases is a central goal for ongoing experiments. And while fractional quantum Hall states could soon be implemented in small atomic ensembles, detecting their signatures in few-particle settings remains a fundamental challenge. In this work, we numerically analyze the center-of-mass Hall drift of a small ensemble of hardcore bosons, initially prepared in the ground state of the Harper-Hofstadter-Hubbard model. By extracting the Hall conductivity in a wide range of the magnetic flux, we identify an emergent Hall plateau compatible with a fractional Chern insulator state: the width of the plateau agrees with the spectral and topological properties of the prepared ground state, while the Hall conductivity approaches a fractional value determined by the many-body Chern number. A comparison with a direct application of Streda's formula is also discussed. Our calculations suggest that fractional Chern insulators can be detected in cold-atom experiments, using available detection methods.
Understanding correlation effects in topological phases of matter is at the forefront of current research in condensed matter physics. Here we try to clarify some subtleties in studying topological behaviors of interacting Weyl semimetals. It is well known that there exist two topological invariants defined to identify their topological character. One is the many-body Chern number, which can be directly linked to the Hall conductivity and thus to the two-particle correlations. The other is the topological index constructed from the single-particle Green's functions. Because the information on Green's functions is achieved more easily than the many-body wave functions, usually only the topological index is employed in the literature. However, the approach based on the single-particle Green's function can break down in the strongly correlated phase. For illustration, an exactly solvable two-orbital model with momentum-local two-body interactions is discussed, in which both topological invariants can be calculated analytically. We find that the topological index calculated from the Green's function formalism can be nonzero even for a nontopological strongly correlated phase with a vanishing many-body Chern number. In addition, we stress that the physical surface states implied by nonzero many-body Chern numbers should be the edge modes of particle-hole collective excitations, rather than those of a quasiparticle nature derived from the Green's function formalism. Our observations thus demonstrate the limitation of the validity of the Green's function formalism in the investigations of interacting topological materials.
The experimental realization of the Harper-Hofstadter model in ultracold atomic gases has placed fractional states of matter in these systems within reach-a fractional Chern insulator state (FCI) is expected to emerge for sufficiently strong interactions when half-filling the lowest band. The experimental setups naturally allow us to probe the dynamics of this topological state; yet little is known about its out-of-equilibrium properties. We explore, using density matrix renormalization group simulations, the response of the FCI state to spatially localized perturbations. After confirming the static properties of the phase we show that the characteristic, gapless features are clearly visible in the edge dynamics. We find that a local edge perturbation in this model propagates chirally independent of the perturbation strength. This contrasts the behavior of single particle models with counterpropagating edge states, such as the noninteracting Harper-Hofstadter model, where the chirality is manifest only for weak perturbations. Additionally, our simulations show that there is inevitable density leakage from the first row of sites into the bulk, preventing a naive chiral Luttinger theory interpretation of the dynamics.
The interplay of topological electronic band structures and strong interparticle interactions provides a promising path towards the constructive design of robust, long-range entangled many-body systems. As a prototype for such systems, we here study an exactly integrable, local model for a fractionalized topological insulator. Using a controlled perturbation theory about this limit, we demonstrate the existence of topological bands of zeros in the exact fermionic Green's function and show that in this model they do affect the topological invariant of the system, but not the quantized transport response. Close to (but prior to) the Higgs transition signaling the breakdown of fractionalization, the topological bands of zeros acquire a finite "lifetime." We also discuss the appearance of edge states and edge zeros at real space domain walls separating different phases of the system. This model provides a fertile ground for controlled studies of the phenomenology of Green's function zeros and the underlying exactly solvable lattice gauge theory illustrates the synergetic cross pollination between solid-state theory, high-energy physics, and quantum information science.