Thermopower of quantum Hall states in Corbino geometry as a measure of quasiparticle entropy

Abstract

Using the Onsager relation between electric and heat transport coefficients, and considering the very different roles played by the quantum Hall condensate and quasiparticles in transport, we argue that near the center of a quantum Hall plateau thermopower in a Corbino geometry measures entropy per quasiparticle per quasiparticle charge. This relation indicates that thermopower measurement in a Corbino setup is a more direct measure of quasiparticle entropy than in a Hall bar. Treating disorder within the self-consistent Born approximation, we show through an explicit microscopic calculation that this relation holds on an integer quantum Hall plateau at low temperatures. Applying this to non-Abelian quantum Hall states, we argue that Corbino thermopower at sufficiently low temperature becomes temperature independent and measures the quantum dimension of non-Abelian quasiparticles that determines the topological entropy they carry.