Lieb-Schultz-Mattis-Type and Laughlin-Type Argument for the Quantum Hall Effect in Lattice Fermions with Spiral Boundary Conditions

Abstract

We derive the condition for the occurrence of the integer quantum Hall effect in two-dimensional lattice systems with interactions, expressed as $\phi\nu-\rho\in\mathbb{Z}$, where $\phi$, $\nu$, and $\rho$ denote the magnetic flux, the Chern number, and the electron density, respectively. By employing spiral boundary conditions, which treat the system as an extended one-dimensional chain, this condition is obtained directly through a Lieb-Schultz-Mattis-type and Laughlin-type argument. This approach improves upon the preceding work based on conventional periodic boundary conditions, where the condition was derived indirectly with redundant system-size dependence. The key to this approach is that the spatial directions of the external force and the response can be systematically controlled by a factor of the system size.