Variational identification of a fractional Chern insulator in an extended Bose-Hubbard model

We study the extended Bose-Hubbard model on the square lattice at half-filling as a function of next-nearest neighbor hopping amplitude and interaction strength. To variationally map out the phase diagram of this model, we develop a two-parameter family of wave functions based on the parton construction which can describe both topological and broken symmetry phases on equal footing. In addition, our wave functions resolve long standing issues with more conventional short-range Jastrow wave functions. Using this variational ansatz, we show that a spontaneous time-reversal symmetry-breaking fractional Chern insulator is energetically favored over a critical region between two superfluid phases. In verifying the properties of these parton wave functions we exemplify a more robust way to identify topology through the Hall conductance.