Fractional Quantum Hall Research Articles

Intertwined order in fractional Chern insulators from finite-momentum pairing of composite fermions

We investigate the problem of intertwined orders in fractional Chern insulators by considering lattice fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states arising from pairing of composite fermions in the square-lattice Hofstadter model. At certain filling fractions, magnetic translation symmetry ensures the composite fermions form Fermi surfaces with multiple pockets, leading to the formation of finite-momentum Cooper pairs in the presence of attractive interactions. We obtain mean-field phase diagrams exhibiting a rich array of striped and topological phases, establishing paired lattice FQH states as an ideal platform to investigate the intertwining of topological and conventional broken symmetry order.

Finite-thickness effect and spin polarization of the even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states

The spin-polarized even-denominator fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states in the second Landau level (LL), i.e. 5/2 and 7/2, may possess novel quasi-particle excitations obeying non-Abelian statistics. However, the spin polarization of the 7/2 FQH state has not been investigated experimentally and the spin polarization of the 5/2 FQH state from tilted field experiments remains controversial. Using a piezo-driven sample rotator with the lowest electron temperature down to 25 mK, we studied the energy gap of the even-denominator FQH states in the second LL by precise control of the tilted angles with a resolution less than 0.1{\deg}. We observed two different energy gap dependences on the in-plane magnetic field for 5/2, 7/2, other FQH states (7/3 and 8/3) in the second LL and reentrant integer quantum Hall (RIQH) states in the third LL. Though the transition fields vary from states, their corresponding in-plane magnetic lengths are comparable to the quantum well thickness of the sample, which may result from the influence of the finite-thickness effect. At low in-plane magnetic fields, before the conjectured finite-thickness effect starts to dominate, the energy gaps of both 5/2 and 7/2 states show a non-decreasing behavior, supporting spin-polarized ground states. Our results also suggest that the 7/3, 8/3 FQH states, and the RIQH states in the third LL are spin-polarized or partially spin-polarized.

Conductance plateaus and shot noise in fractional quantum Hall point contacts

Quantum point contact devices are indispensable tools for probing the edge structure of the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states. Recent observations of quantized conductance plateaus accompanied by shot noise in such devices, as well as suppression of Mach-Zehnder interference, call for theoretical explanations. In this paper, we develop a theory of FQH edge state transport through quantum point contacts, which allows for a generic Abelian edge structure and assumes strong equilibration between edge modes (incoherent transport regime). We find that conductance plateaus are found whenever the quantum point contact locally depletes the Hall bar to a stable region with a filling factor lower than that of the bulk and the resulting edge states equilibrate. The shot noise generated on these plateaus can be classified according to 13 possible combinations of edge charge and heat transport in the device. We also comment on a relation between the the emergence of quantized plateaus and the suppression of Mach-Zehnder interference. Besides explaining recent experimental findings, our results provide novel insights and perspectives on quantum point contact devices in the FQH regime.

Microscopic theory of fractional excitations in gapless quantum Hall states: semi-quantized quantum Hall states

We derive the low-energy theory of semi-quantized quantum Hall states, a recently observed class of gapless bilayer fractional quantum Hall states. Our theory shows these states to feature gapless quasiparticles of fractional charge coupled to an emergent Chern-Simons gauge field. These gapless quasiparticles can be understood as composites of electrons and Laughlin-like quasiparticles. We show that semi-quantized quantum Hall states exhibit perfect interlayer drag, host non-Fermi liquid physics, and serve as versatile parent states for fully gapped topological phases hosting anyonic excitations.

Entanglement spectrum edge reconstruction and correlation hole of fractional quantum Hall liquids

The edge of the electronic fractional quantum Hall (FQH) system obeys the law of the chiral Luttinger liquid theory due to its intrinsic topological properties and the relation of bulk-edge correspondence. However, in a realistic experimental system, such as the usual Hall bar setup, the soften of the background confinement potential can induce the reconstruction of the edge spectrum which breaks the chirality and universality of the FQH edge. The entanglement spectrum (ES) of the FQH ground state has the same counting structure as that in the energy spectrum indicating the topological characters of the quantum state. In this work, we report that the ES can also have an edge reconstruction while sweeping the area of the sub-system in real space cut. Moreover, we found the critical area of the sub-system matches accurately with the intrinsic building block of the fractional quantum Hall liquids, namely the correlation hole of the FQH liquids. The above results seem like be universal after our studying a series of typical FQH states, such as two Laughlin states at $\nu = 1/3$ and $\nu = 1/5$, and the Moore-Read state for $\nu = 5/2$.

Non-Hermitian fractional quantum Hall states

We demonstrate the emergence of a topological ordered phase for non-Hermitian systems. Specifically, we elucidate that systems with non-Hermitian two-body interactions show a fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state. The non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is considered to be relevant to cold atoms with dissipation. We conclude the emergence of the non-Hermitian FQH state by the presence of the topological degeneracy and by the many-body Chern number for the ground state multiplet showing Ctot = 1. The robust topological degeneracy against non-Hermiticity arises from the manybody translational symmetry. Furthermore, we discover that the FQH state emerges without any repulsive interactions, which is attributed to a phenomenon reminiscent of the continuous quantum Zeno effect.

3/2 fractional quantum Hall plateau in confined two-dimensional electron gas

Even-denominator fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states, such as 5/2 and 7/2, have been well known in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) for decades and are still investigated as candidates of non-Abelian statistics. In this paper, we present the observation of a 3/2 FQH plateau in a single-layer 2DEG with lateral confinement at a bulk filling factor of 5/3. The 3/2 FQH plateau is quantized at left( {frac{h}{{e^2}}} right)/left( {frac{3}{2}} right) within 0.02%, and can survive up to 300 mK. This even-denominator FQH plateau may imply intriguing edge structure and excitation in FQH system with lateral confinement. The observations in this work demonstrate that understanding the effect of the lateral confinement on the many-body system is critical in the pursuit of important theoretical proposals involving edge physics, such as the demonstration of non-Abelian statistics and the realization of braiding for fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Interaction-dependent anisotropy of fractional quantum Hall states

A fractional quantum Hall (FQH) system with broken rotational symmetry exploits its geometric degree of freedom to minimize its ground state energy. The mass anisotropy of bare particles interacting isotropically is partially inherited by the many-body FQH state, and the extent to which it does so depends on the type of interaction, filling fraction and ground state phase. Using numerical infinite density matrix renormalization group simulations, we investigate the transference of elliptical ($C_2$-symmetric) anisotropy from the band mass of the bare particles to the FQH states, for various power law interactions. We map out the response of FQH states to small anisotropy as a function of power law exponent, filling, and statistics (bosonic or fermionic) of the constituents. Interestingly, we find a non-analyticity in the linear response of the FQH state at a special filling-dependent value of the power law exponent, above which the interaction effectively becomes zero-range (point-like). We also investigate the the effect of $C_4$-symmetric band distortions, where we observe a strikingly different dependence on filling.

Topological characterization of hierarchical fractional quantum Hall effects in topological flat bands with SU( N ) symmetry

We study the many-body ground states of SU($N$) symmetric hardcore bosons on the topological flat-band model by using controlled numerical calculations. By introducing strong intracomponent and intercomponent interactions, we demonstrate that a hierarchy of bosonic SU($N$) fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states emerges at fractional filling factors $\nu=N/(MN+1)$ (odd $M=3$). In order to characterize this series of FQH states, we figure the effective $\mathbf{K}$ matrix from the inverse of the Chern number matrix. The topological characterization of the $\mathbf{K}$ matrix also reveals quantized drag Hall responses and fractional charge pumping that could be detected in future experiments. In addition, we address the general one-to-one correspondence to the spinless FQH states in topological flat bands with Chern number $C=N$ at fillings $\widetilde{\nu}=1/(MC+1)$.

Tunneling density of states, correlation energy, and spin polarization in the fractional quantum Hall regime

We derive exact sum-rules that relate the tunneling density of states (TDOS) of spinful electrons in the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) regime to the spin-dependent many body ground state correlation energy. Because the tunneling process is spin-conserving, the 2D (two-dimensional) to 2D tunneling current $I$ at a given bias voltage $V$ in a spin-polarized system is a sum of majority and minority spin contributions. The sum rules can be used to define spin-dependent gaps that we associate with peaks in 2D to 2D tunneling $I-V$ curves. We discuss different scenarios of tunneling between layers at different fillings in relation to our sum rules. We comment on what recent tunneling experiments say about spin-dependent correlations in light of our sum rules, and propose additional measurements that could provide more specific experimental estimates of spin-dependent correlation energies.

Disorder-Driven Transition in the ν=5/2 Fractional Quantum Hall Effect.

The fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effect at the filling number ν=5/2 is a primary candidate for non-Abelian topological order, while the fate of such a state in the presence of random disorder has not been resolved. We address this open question by implementing an unbiased diagnosis based on numerical exact diagonalization. We calculate the disorder averaged Hall conductance and the associated statistical distribution of the topological invariant Chern number, which unambiguously characterize the disorder-driven collapse of the FQH state. As the disorder strength increases towards a critical value, a continuous phase transition is detected based on the disorder configuration averaged wave function fidelity and the entanglement entropy. In the strong disorder regime, we identify a composite Fermi liquid phase with fluctuating Chern numbers, in striking contrast to the well-known ν=1/3 case where an Anderson insulator appears. Interestingly, the lowest Landau level projected a local density profile, the wave function overlap, and the entanglement entropy as a function of disorder strength simultaneously signal an intermediate phase, which may be relevant to the recent proposal of a particle-hole Pfaffian state or Pfaffian-anti-Pfaffian puddle state.

Interlayer fractional quantum Hall effect in a coupled graphene double layer

In two-dimensional (2D) electron systems under strong magnetic fields, interactions can cause fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effects. Bringing two 2D conductors to proximity, a new set of correlated states can emerge due to interactions between electrons in the same and opposite layers. Here we report interlayer correlated FQH states in a system of two parallel graphene layers separated by a thin insulator. Current flow in one layer generates different quantized Hall signals in the two layers. This result is interpreted by composite fermion (CF) theory with different intralayer and interlayer Chern-Simons gauge-field coupling. We observe FQH states corresponding to integer values of CF Landau level (LL) filling in both layers, as well as "semi-quantized" states, where a full CF LL couples to a continuously varying partially filled CF LL. Remarkably, we also recognize a quantized state between two coupled half-filled CF LLs, attributable to an interlayer CF exciton condensate.

Parton construction of particle-hole-conjugate Read-Rezayi parafermion fractional quantum Hall states and beyond

The Read-Rezayi (RR) parafermion states form a series of exotic non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states at filling $\nu = k/(k+2)$. Computationally, the wave functions of these states are prohibitively expensive to generate for large systems. We introduce a series of parton states, denoted "$\bar{2}^{k}1^{k+1}$," and show that they lie in the same universality classes as the particle-hole-conjugate RR ("anti-RR") states. Our analytical results imply that a $(U(1)_{k+1} \times U(2k)_{-1})/(SU(k)_{-2} \times U(1)_{-1})$ coset conformal field theory describes the edge excitations of the $\bar{2}^{k}1^{k+1}$ state, suggesting non-trivial dualities with respect to previously known descriptions. The parton construction allows wave functions in anti-RR phases to be generated for hundreds of particles. We further propose the parton sequence "$\bar{n}\bar{2}^{2}1^{4}$," with $n=1,2,3$, to describe the FQH states observed at $\nu=2+1/2,~2+2/5$ and $2+3/8$.

Paired parton quantum Hall states: A coupled wire construction

The Pfaffian fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states are incompressible non-Abelian topological fluids present in a half-filled electron Landau level, where there is a balanced population of electrons and holes. They give rise to half-integral quantum Hall plateaus that divide critical transitions between integer quantum Hall (IQH) states. On the other hand, there are Abelian FQH states, such as the Laughlin state, that can be understood using partons, which are fermionic divisions of the electron. In this paper, we propose a new family of incompressible paired parton FQH states at filling $\nu=1/6$ (modulo 1) that emerge from critical transitions between IQH states and Abelian FQH states at filling $\nu=1/3$ (modulo 1). These paired parton states are originated from a half-filled parton Landau level, where there is an equal amount of partons and holes. They generically support Ising-like anyonic quasiparticle excitations and carry non-Abelian Pfaffian topological orders (TO) for partons. We prove the principle existence of these paired parton states using exactly solvable interacting arrays of electronic wires under a magnetic field. Moreover, we establish a new notion of particle-hole (PH) symmetry for partons and relate the PH symmetric parton Pfaffian TO with the gapped symmetric surface TO of a fractional topological insulator in three dimension.

Pair-Density-Wave Order and Paired Fractional Quantum Hall Fluids

The properties of the isotropic incompressible $\nu=5/2$ fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state are described by a paired state of composite fermions in zero (effective) magnetic field, with a uniform $p_x+ip_y$ pairing order parameter, which is a non-Abelian topological phase with chiral Majorana and charge modes at the boundary. Recent experiments suggest the existence of a proximate nematic phase at $\nu=5/2$. This finding motivates us to consider an inhomogeneous paired state - a $p_x+ip_y$ pair-density-wave (PDW) - whose melting could be the origin of the observed liquid-crystalline phases. This state can viewed as an array of domain and anti-domain walls of the $p_x+i p_y$ order parameter. We show that the nodes of the PDW order parameter, the location of the domain walls (and anti-domain walls) where the order parameter changes sign, support a pair of symmetry-protected counter-propagating Majorana modes. The coupling behavior of the domain wall Majorana modes crucially depends on the interplay of the Fermi energy $E_{F}$ and the PDW pairing energy $E_{\textrm{pdw}}$. The analysis of this interplay yields a rich set of topological states. The pair-density-wave order state in paired FQH system provides a fertile setting to study Abelian and non-Abelian FQH phases - as well as transitions thereof - tuned by the strength of the paired liquid crystalline order.

Fractional quantum Hall effects in In0.75Ga0.25As bilayer electron systems observed as \u201cFinger print\u201d

Observations of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) plateaus are reported in bilayer electron gas system in wide (>80 nm) In0.75Ga0.25As wells. Several q/p (p = 5, 3, and 2, q > 5) QH states are confirmed at high temperatures (~1.6 K) when the critical conditions including an electron density imbalance as well as a dynamical resistance behavior at the bilayer-monolayer transition are properly satisfied. The former leads to a quantum limit in either of the layers and the latter might bring a meta-stable nature into FQH phenomena. Such a behavior occurs as a probability process associating with impurities or defects in the wells, they inevitably reflect the local structural landscapes of each sample. This is verified by the new finding that the kinds of fractional plateaus (what set of fractional filling factors) appeared are different depending on the samples, that is, they are the “finger print” in each sample.

Charge equilibration in integer and fractional quantum Hall edge channels in a generalized Hall-bar device

Charge equilibration between quantum-Hall edge states can be studied to reveal geometric structure of edge channels not only in the integer quantum Hall (IQH) regime but also in the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) regime particularly for hole-conjugate states. Here we report on a systematic study of charge equilibration in both IQH and FQH regimes by using a generalized Hall bar, in which a quantum Hall state is nested in another quantum Hall state with different Landau filling factors. This provides a feasible way to evaluate equilibration in various conditions even in the presence of scattering in the bulk region. The validity of the analysis is tested in the IQH regime by confirming consistency with previous works. In the FQH regime, we find that the equilibration length for counter-propagating $\delta \nu $ = 1 and $\delta \nu $ = -1/3 channels along a hole-conjugate state at Landau filling factor $\nu $ = 2/3 is much shorter than that for co-propagating $\delta \nu $ = 1 and $\delta \nu $ = 1/3 channels along a particle state at $\nu $ = 4/3. The difference can be associated to the distinct geometric structures of the edge channels. Our analysis with generalized Hall bar devices would be useful in studying edge equilibration and edge structures.

Neutral excitation and bulk gap of fractional quantum Hall liquids in disk geometry**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11674041, 91630205, 11474144, and 11847301), Chongqing Research Program of Basic Research and Frontier Technology (Grant No. cstc2017jcyjAX0084), and FRF for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2019CDJDWL0005).

For the numerical simulation of the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effects on a finite disk, the rotational symmetry is the only symmetry that is used in diagonalizing the Hamiltonian. In this work, we propose a method of using the weak translational symmetry for the center of mass of the many-body system. With this approach, the bulk properties, such as the energy gap and the magneto-roton excitation are consistent with those in the closed manifolds like the sphere and torus. As an application, we consider the FQH phase and its phase transition in the fast rotated dipolar fermions. We thus demonstrate the disk geometry having versatility in analyzing the bulk properties beside the usual edge physics.

Detecting Fractional Chern Insulators through Circular Dichroism.

Great efforts are currently devoted to the engineering of topological Bloch bands in ultracold atomic gases. Recent achievements in this direction, together with the possibility of tuning interparticle interactions, suggest that strongly correlated states reminiscent of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) liquids could soon be generated in these systems. In this experimental framework, where transport measurements are limited, identifying unambiguous signatures of FQH-type states constitutes a challenge on its own. Here, we demonstrate that the fractional nature of the quantized Hall conductance, a fundamental characteristic of FQH states, could be detected in ultracold gases through a circular-dichroic measurement, namely, by monitoring the energy absorbed by the atomic cloud upon a circular drive. We validate this approach by comparing the circular-dichroic signal to the many-body Chern number and discuss how such measurements could be performed to distinguish FQH-type states from competing states. Our scheme offers a practical tool for the detection of topologically ordered states in quantum-engineered systems, with potential applications in solid state.

Fractional Quantum Hall from Overlap of Electron-Hole Bands

Fractional Quantum Hall from Overlap of Electron-Hole Bands