Charged classical systems and BDJ-type wavefunctions for quantum fluids

Abstract

Some aspects of BDJ-type wavefunctions are discussed. It is shown that a two-component BDJ-type wavefunction proposed by Halperin (1983) in relation to the anomalous quantum Hall effect contains the cyclotron mode as an elementary excitation. The effect of a periodic potential on a quantum fluid is modelled by a BDJ-type wavefunction, and criteria specifying the phase (mobile or pinned) formulated. For a one-dimensional quantum fluid in a periodic potential quantitative results for the occurrence of a pinned phase are given in terms of a dimensionless parameter in the corresponding homogeneous system.