%0 Journal Article
%T A continuous transition between fractional quantum Hall and superfluid states
%A Maissam Barkeshli
%A John McGreevy
%J Physics
%D 2012
%I arXiv
%R 10.1103/PhysRevB.89.235116
%X We develop a theory of a direct, continuous quantum phase transition between a bosonic Laughlin fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state and a superfluid, generalizing the Mott insulator to superfluid phase diagram of bosons to allow for the breaking of time-reversal symmetry. The direct transition can be protected by a spatial symmetry, and the critical theory is a pair of Dirac fermion fields coupled to an emergent Chern-Simons gauge field. The transition may be achieved in optical traps of ultracold atoms by starting with a $\nu = 1/2$ bosonic Laughlin state and tuning an appropriate periodic potential to change the topology of the composite fermion band structure.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.4393v1