Bootstrapping the Quantum Hall Problem

The bootstrap method aims to solve problems by imposing constraints on the space of physical observables, which often follow from physical assumptions such as positivity and symmetry. Here, we employ a bootstrap approach to study interacting electrons in the lowest Landau level by minimizing the ene...

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Main Authors: Qiang Gao, Ryan A. Lanzetta, Patrick Ledwith, Jie Wang, Eslam Khalaf
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-07-01
Series:Physical Review X
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/csnn-vjhn
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author Qiang Gao
Ryan A. Lanzetta
Patrick Ledwith
Jie Wang
Eslam Khalaf
author_facet Qiang Gao
Ryan A. Lanzetta
Patrick Ledwith
Jie Wang
Eslam Khalaf
author_sort Qiang Gao
collection DOAJ
description The bootstrap method aims to solve problems by imposing constraints on the space of physical observables, which often follow from physical assumptions such as positivity and symmetry. Here, we employ a bootstrap approach to study interacting electrons in the lowest Landau level by minimizing the energy as a function of the static structure factor subject to a set of constraints, bypassing the need to construct the full many-body wave function. This approach rigorously lower bounds the ground state energy, making it complementary to conventional variational upper bounds. We show that the lower bound we obtain is relatively tight, within at most a few percent from the ground state energy computed with exact diagonalization at small system sizes, and generally gets tighter as we include more constraints. We also show that, by combining the bootstrap lower bounds with variational Monte Carlo calculations for various quantum Hall states, we can obtain two-sided bounds on the ground state energy that rigorously bounds the error to below a few percentage for large system sizes where exact diagonalization is not accessible. Beyond the energetics, our results reproduce the correct power law dependence of the pair correlation function at short distances and the existence of a large entanglement gap in the two-particle entanglement spectra for the Laughlin states at ν=1/3. We further identify signatures of the composite Fermi liquid state close to half filling. This shows that the bootstrap approach is capable, in principle, of describing nontrivial gapped topologically ordered, as well as gapless, phases. We further study the evolution of the ground state energy and correlation functions as we interpolate between the lowest and first Landau levels at half filling and find indications of a phase transition from a composite Fermi liquid to a non-Abelian state. We also discuss more generally how the geometry of the allowed set of structure factors can be used to diagnose phase transitions. At the end, we discuss possible extensions and current limitations of this approach and how they can be overcome in future studies. Our work establishes numerical bootstrap as a promising method to study many-body phases in topological bands, paving the way to its application in moiré platforms where the energetic competition between fractional quantum anomalous Hall, symmetry broken, and gapless states remains poorly understood.
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spelling doaj-art-209a506dd6934035b0feec0dc1246a122025-08-20T03:16:15ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review X2160-33082025-07-0115303103410.1103/csnn-vjhnBootstrapping the Quantum Hall ProblemQiang GaoRyan A. LanzettaPatrick LedwithJie WangEslam KhalafThe bootstrap method aims to solve problems by imposing constraints on the space of physical observables, which often follow from physical assumptions such as positivity and symmetry. Here, we employ a bootstrap approach to study interacting electrons in the lowest Landau level by minimizing the energy as a function of the static structure factor subject to a set of constraints, bypassing the need to construct the full many-body wave function. This approach rigorously lower bounds the ground state energy, making it complementary to conventional variational upper bounds. We show that the lower bound we obtain is relatively tight, within at most a few percent from the ground state energy computed with exact diagonalization at small system sizes, and generally gets tighter as we include more constraints. We also show that, by combining the bootstrap lower bounds with variational Monte Carlo calculations for various quantum Hall states, we can obtain two-sided bounds on the ground state energy that rigorously bounds the error to below a few percentage for large system sizes where exact diagonalization is not accessible. Beyond the energetics, our results reproduce the correct power law dependence of the pair correlation function at short distances and the existence of a large entanglement gap in the two-particle entanglement spectra for the Laughlin states at ν=1/3. We further identify signatures of the composite Fermi liquid state close to half filling. This shows that the bootstrap approach is capable, in principle, of describing nontrivial gapped topologically ordered, as well as gapless, phases. We further study the evolution of the ground state energy and correlation functions as we interpolate between the lowest and first Landau levels at half filling and find indications of a phase transition from a composite Fermi liquid to a non-Abelian state. We also discuss more generally how the geometry of the allowed set of structure factors can be used to diagnose phase transitions. At the end, we discuss possible extensions and current limitations of this approach and how they can be overcome in future studies. Our work establishes numerical bootstrap as a promising method to study many-body phases in topological bands, paving the way to its application in moiré platforms where the energetic competition between fractional quantum anomalous Hall, symmetry broken, and gapless states remains poorly understood.http://doi.org/10.1103/csnn-vjhn
spellingShingle Qiang Gao
Ryan A. Lanzetta
Patrick Ledwith
Jie Wang
Eslam Khalaf
Bootstrapping the Quantum Hall Problem
Physical Review X
title Bootstrapping the Quantum Hall Problem
title_full Bootstrapping the Quantum Hall Problem
title_fullStr Bootstrapping the Quantum Hall Problem
title_full_unstemmed Bootstrapping the Quantum Hall Problem
title_short Bootstrapping the Quantum Hall Problem
title_sort bootstrapping the quantum hall problem
url http://doi.org/10.1103/csnn-vjhn
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AT patrickledwith bootstrappingthequantumhallproblem
AT jiewang bootstrappingthequantumhallproblem
AT eslamkhalaf bootstrappingthequantumhallproblem