The quantum variance of an observable is a fundamental quantity in quantum mechanics, and the variance provides additional information other than the average itself. By examining the relation between the particlecurrent variance (δJ) 2 and the average current J in both closed and open interacting fermionic systems, we show the emergence of a multi-valued Lissajous curve between δJ and J due to interactions. As a closed system we considered the persistent current in a benzene-like lattice enclosing an effective magnetic flux and solved it by exact diagonalization. For the open system, the steady-state current flowing through a few lattice sites coupled to two particle reservoirs was investigated using a Lindblad equation. In both cases, interactions open a loop and change the topology of the corresponding δJ-J Lissajous curve, showing that this effect is model-independent. We finally discuss how the predicted phenomena can be observed in ultracold atoms, thus offering an alternative way of probing the dynamics of many-body systems.Quantum fluctuations of the current flowing in a system provide more information than the average current itself [1][2][3]. This fact has been demonstrated in several experimental and theoretical studies ranging from quantum dots [4] to nanoscale systems [5,6], to name a few. In all those studies, two-time correlations of current are measured (or calculated) away from the average current, and from their spectrum one can infer the type of physical processes at play [2]. On the other hand, equal-time density fluctuations at different spatial locations have been measured in ultracold atoms [7], revealing spatial correlations in quantum gases.However, one could also study quantum variance of the current, a property of fundamental importance in quantum mechanics because of the uncertainty principle [8]. This equal-time, equal-space quantity has been less explored, presumably because of experimental difficulty in measuring it in a current-carrying system. Emergence of cold atoms [9][10][11] as new model systems to study a host of phenomena otherwise difficult to probe using traditional solid-state materials, makes this transport property readily accessible experimentally [12]. It is then natural to ask what information the variance would reveal, and how that information might be useful in characterizing the many-body dynamics.In this paper, having in mind cold-atom systems as possible experimental verification of our predictions, we study the quantum variance, (δJ) 2 , of current flowing in a fermionic many-body system, and relate this quantity to the average current, J. We consider two experimentally realizable situations: the persistent current of a periodic system and the steady-state limit of the current in an open system. The latter case is more amenable to an easier experimental realization in ultracold atoms [13,14].In order to solve the many-body problem exactly (hence beyond mean field), we have considered, as a closed system, a benzene-like ring lattice with a static magnetic flux to...