We investigate the interplay between spin-orbit coupling and electron-electron interactions on the honeycomb lattice combining the cellular dynamical mean-field theory and its real space extension with analytical approaches. We provide a thorough analysis of the phase diagram and temperature effects at weak spin-orbit coupling. We systematically discuss the stability of the quantum spin Hall phase toward interactions and lattice anisotropy resulting in the plaquette-honeycomb model. We also show the evolution of the helical edge states characteristic of quantum spin Hall insulators as a function of Hubbard interaction and anisotropy. At very weak spin-orbit coupling and intermediate electron-electron interactions, we substantiate the existence of a quantum spin liquid phase.

We investigate disordered graphene with strong long-range impurities. Contrary to the common belief that delocalization should persist in such a system against any disorder, as the system is expected to be equivalent to a disordered two-dimensional Dirac fermionic system, we find that states near the Dirac points are localized for sufficiently strong disorder (therefore inevitable intervalley scattering) and the transition between the localized and delocalized states is of Kosterlitz-Thouless type. Our results show that the transition originates from bounding and unbounding of local current vortices.

We study quantum magnetism of interacting spinor bosons at integer fillings hopping in a square lattice in the presence of of non-Abelian gauge fields. In the strong coupling limit, it leads to the Rotated ferromagnetic Heisenberg model (RFHM) which is a new class of quantum spin model. We introduce Wilson loops to characterize frustrations and gauge equivalent classes. For a special equivalent class, we identify a new spin-orbital entangled commensurate ground state. It supports not only commensurate magnons, but also a new gapped elementary excitation: in-commensurate magnons with two gap minima continuously tuned by the SOC strength. At low temperatures, these magnons lead to dramatic effects in many physical quantities such as density of states, specific heat, magnetization, uniform susceptibility, staggered susceptibility and various spin correlation functions. The commensurate magnons lead to a pinned central peak in the angle resolved light or atom Bragg spectroscopy. However, the in-commensurate magnons split it into two located at their two gap minima. At high temperatures, the transverse spin structure factors depend on the SOC strength explicitly. The whole set of Wilson loops can be mapped out by measuring the specific heat at the corresponding orders in the high temperature expansion. We argue that one gauge may be realized in current experiments and other gauges may also be realized in near future experiments. The results achieved along the exact solvable line sets up the stage to investigate dramatic effects when tuning away from it by various means. We sketch the crucial roles to be played by these magnons at other equivalent classes, with spin anisotropic interactions and in the presence of finite magnetic fields. Various experimental detections of these new phenomena are discussed. Rotated Anti-ferromagnetic Heisenberg model are also briefly mentioned.