Global Phase Diagram of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect Arising from Repulsive Three-Body Interactions

The model of fermions in a magnetic field interacting via a purely three-body repulsive interaction has attracted interest because it produces, in the limit of short range interaction, the Pfaffian state with non-Abelian excitations. We show that this is part of a rich phase diagram containing a host of fractional quantum Hall states, a composite fermion Fermi sea, and a pairing transition. This is entirely unexpected, because the appearance of composite fermions and fractional quantum Hall effect is ordinarily thought to be a result of strong two-body repulsion. Recent breakthroughs in ultracold atoms have facilitated the realization of such a system, where this physics can be tested.