Generalized flux states and the quantum Hall effect (abstract)

Abstract

We investigate certain generalized flux phases arising in a mean-field approach to the t-J model. First we establish that the energy of noninteracting electrons moving in a uniform magnetic field has an absolute minimum as a function of the flux at exactly one flux quantum per particle. Using this result we show that if the hard-core nature of the hole bosons is taken into account, then the generalized flux states in the mean-field approximation constitute a solution where both the spinons and the holons experience an average flux of one flux quantum per particle. We elaborate the relation to the integer and fractional quantum Hall effect. Based on this analogy one expects that only states with certain fractional fillings (ν=1/odd integer) are stable against the fluctuations of the (gauge) field. We speculate that at arbitrary fillings the system minimizes its energy by phase separating into these stable states. Finally we work out the ground state energy for nonuniform (staggered) flux phases and establish that the often claimed equivalence of frustration and doping does not hold for these states.