Quantum Hall Phases of Cold Bose Gases

Abstract

Cold atomic gases of interacting bosons subject to rapid rotation and confined in anharmonic traps can theoretically exhibit analogues of the fractional quantum Hall effect for electrons in strong magnetic fields. In this setting the Coriolis force due to the rotation mimics the Lorentz force on charged particles but artificial gauge fields can also be obtained by coupling the internal structure of the atoms to light fields. The chapter discusses mathematical aspects of transitions to different strongly correlated phases that appear when the parameters of a model Hamiltonian are varied.