Characterization of topological states on a lattice with Chern number

We study Chern numbers to characterize the ground state of strongly interacting systems on a lattice. This method allows us to perform a numerical characterization of bosonic fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states on a lattice where the conventional overlap calculation with the known continuum case such as the Laughlin state, breaks down due to the lattice structure or dipole-dipole interaction. The non-vanishing Chern number indicates the existence of a topological order in the degenerate ground-state manifold. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2008.