Toward a global phase diagram of the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect

Abstract

Recent experiments on the twisted semiconductor bilayer system $t$MoTe$_2$ have observed integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects, which occur in topological moir\'e bands at zero magnetic field. Here, we present a global phase diagram of $t$MoTe$_2$ throughout the filling range $0< n\leq 1$ substantiated by exact diagonalization calculations. At a magic angle, we find that the system resembles the lowest Landau level (LLL) to a remarkable degree, exhibiting an abundance of incompressible fractional quantum anomalous Hall states and compressible anomalous composite Fermi liquid states. Away from the magic angle, particle-hole symmetry is strongly broken. Some LLL-like features remain robust near half-filling, while others are replaced, predominantly by charge density waves near $n=0$ and anomalous Hall Fermi liquids near $n=1$. Among LLL-like phases, we find the anomalous composite Fermi liquid at $n=\frac{1}{2}$ to be most robust against deviations from the magic angle. Within the band-projected model, we show that strong particle-hole asymmetry above the magic angle results from interaction-enhanced quasiparticle dispersion near $n=1$. Our work sets the stage for future exploration of LLL-like and beyond-LLL phases in fractional quantum anomalous Hall systems.