Haldane-Rezayi State Research Articles

Supergravity model of the Haldane-Rezayi fractional quantum Hall state

Supersymmetry and supergravity were invented in the 1970s to solve fundamental problems in high-energy physics. Even though neither of these ideas has yet been confirmed in high-energy and cosmology experiments, they have been beneficial in constructing numerous theoretical models including superstring theory. Despite the absence of supersymmetry in particle physics, it can potentially emerge in exotic phases of strongly correlated condensed matter systems. In this paper, we propose a supergravity model that describes the low-energy physics of the Haldane-Rezayi state, a gapless quantum Hall state that occurs in a half-filled Landau level. We show that the corresponding edge modes of the Haldane-Rezayi state and the Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman algebra appear naturally in the supergravity model. Finally, we substantiate our theoretical findings with numerical exact diagonalization calculations that support the appearance of the emergent graviton and gravitino excitations in the Haldane-Rezayi state.

Matrix product state description and gaplessness of the Haldane-Rezayi state

We derive an exact matrix product state representation of the Haldane-Rezayi state on both the cylinder and torus geometry. Our derivation is based on the description of the Haldane-Rezayi state as a correlator in a non-unitary logarithmic conformal field theory. This construction faithfully captures the ten degenerate ground states of this model state on the torus. Using the cylinder geometry, we probe the gapless nature of the phase by extracting the correlation length, which diverges in the thermodynamic limit. The numerically extracted topological entanglement entropies seem to only probe the Abelian part of the theory, which is reminiscent of the Gaffnian state, another model state deriving from a non-unitary conformal field theory.

Existence of strong-pairing quantum Hall phase in bilayer cold-atom systems with dipolar interactions

We study bilayer fermionic cold atom systems with dipolar interactions, as well as a two-component tunable pseudopotential (TCTP) model which keeps only the zeroth and first Haldane pseudopotentials, at total Landau level filling factor 1/2. Our numerical results on the TCTP model indicates that Haldane-Rezayi state describes the critical point between strong and weak d-wave pairing quantum Hall phases. Further increasing the attractive zeroth pseudopotentials, the system transits from the strong-pairing phase to a stripe phase, and then to a cluster phase (or phase separation). The dipolar interaction can be mapped onto the TCTP model in the strong-pairing phase, if high order pseudopotentials are ignored. Our numerical results show that this is indeed the case, so the strong-pairing phase can be realized in the cold atom system.

Thin torus perturbative analysis of elementary excitations in the Gaffnian and Haldane-Rezayi quantum Hall states

We present a systematic perturbative approach to study excitations in the thin cylinder/torus limit of the quantum Hall states. The approach is applied to the Haldane-Rezayi and Gaffnian quantum Hall states, which are both expected to have gapless excitations in the usual two-dimensional thermodynamic limit. For the Haldane-Rezayi state, we confirm that gapless excitations are present also in the "one-dimensional" thermodynamic limit of an infinite thin cylinder, in agreement with earlier considerations based on the wave functions alone. In contrast, we identify the lowest excitations of the Gaffnian state in the thin cylinder limit, and conclude that they are gapped, using a combination of perturbative and numerical means. We discuss possible scenarios for the cross-over between the two-dimensional and the one-dimensional thermodynamic limit in this case.

Topologicald-wave pairing structures in Jain states

We discuss d-wave topological (broken time reversal symmetry) pairing structures in unpolarized and polarized Jain states. We demonstrate pairing in the Jain spin singlet state by rewriting it in an explicit pairing form, in which we can recognize d-wave weak pairing of underlying quasiparticles - neutral fermions. We find and describe the root configuration of the Jain spin singlet state and its connection with neutral excitations of the Haldane-Rezayi state, and study the transition between these states via exact diagonalization. We find high overlaps with the Jain spin singlet state upon a departure from the hollow core model for which the Haldane-Rezayi state is the exact ground state. Due to a proven algebraic identity we were able to extend the analysis of topological d-wave pairing structures to polarized Jain states and integer quantum Hall states, and discuss its consequences.

Gapless excitations in the Haldane-Rezayi state: The thin-torus limit

We study the thin torus limit of the Haldane-Rezayi state. Eight of the ten ground states are found to assume a simple product form in this limit, as is known to be the case for many other quantum Hall trial wave functions. The two remaining states have a somewhat unusual thin torus limit, where a "broken" pair of defects forming a singlet is completely delocalized. We derive these limits from the wave functions on the cylinder, and deduce the dominant matrix elements of the thin torus hollow-core Hamiltonians. We find that there are gapless excitations in the thin torus limit. This is in agreement with the expectation that local Hamiltonians stabilizing wave functions associated with non-unitary conformal field theories are gapless. We also use the thin torus analysis to obtain explicit counting formulas for the zero modes of the hollow-core Hamiltonian on the torus, as well as for the parent Hamiltonians of several other paired and related quantum Hall states.

Modified Coulomb gas construction of quantum Hall states from nonunitary conformal field theories

Some fractional quantum Hall states observed in experiments may be described by first-quantized wavefunctions with special clustering properties such as the Moore-Read Pfaffian for filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=5/2$. This wavefunction has been constructed by constructing correlation functions of a two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) involving a free boson and a Majorana fermion. By considering other CFTs many other clustered states have been proposed as candidate fractional quantum Hall states under appropriate circumstances. It is believed that the underlying CFT should be unitary if one wants to describe an incompressible, i.e., gapped liquid state. We show that by changing the way one derives the wavefunction from its parent CFT it is possible to obtain an incompressible candidate state when starting from a nonunitary parent. The construction mimics a global change in parameters in the phase space of the electron system. We explicit our construction in the case of the so-called Gaffnian state (a state for filling factor 2/5) and also for the Haldane-Rezayi state (a spin-singlet state at filling 1/2). We note that there are obstructions along this path in the case of the permanent spin-singlet state of Read and Rezayi which can be characterized as a robust gapless state.

Fractional quantum Hall state atν=14in a wide quantum well

We investigate, with the help of Monte Carlo and exact-diagonalization calculations in the spherical geometry, several compressible and incompressible candidate wave functions for the recently observed quantum Hall state at the filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/4$ in a wide quantum well. The quantum well is modeled as a two-component system by retaining its two lowest subbands. We make a direct connection with the phenomenological effective-bilayer model, which is commonly used in the description of a wide quantum well and we compare our findings with the established results at $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/2$ in the lowest Landau level. At $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/4$, the overlap calculations for the Halperin (5,5,3) and (7,7,1) states, the generalized Haldane-Rezayi state and the Moore-Read Pfaffian, suggest that the incompressible state is likely to be realized in the interplay between the Halperin (5,5,3) state and the Moore-Read Pfaffian. Our numerics show the latter to be very susceptible to changes in the interaction coefficients, thus indicating that the observed state is of multicomponent nature.

Pairing in ultracold Fermi gases in the lowest Landau level

We study a rapidly rotating gas of unpolarized spin-1/2 ultracold fermions in the two-dimensional regime when all atoms reside in the lowest Landau level. Due to the presence of the spin degree of freedom both $s$-wave and $p$-wave interactions are allowed at ultralow temperatures. We investigate the phase diagram of this system as a function of the filling factor in the lowest Landau level and in terms of the ratio between $s$- and $p$-wave interaction strengths. We show that the presence of attractive interactions induces a wide regime of phase separation with formation of maximally compact droplets that are either fully polarized or composed of spin-singlets. In the regime with no phase separation, we give evidence for fractional quantum Hall states. Most notably, we find two distinct singlet states at the filling $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/3$ for different interactions. One of these states is accounted for by the composite fermion theory, while the other one is a paired state for which we identify two competing descriptions with different topological structures. This paired state may be an Abelian liquid of composite spin-singlet Bose molecules with Laughlin correlations. Alternatively, it may be a known non-Abelian paired state, indicated by good overlaps with the corresponding trial wave function. By fine tuning of the scattering lengths it is possible to create the non-Abelian critical Haldane-Rezayi state for $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/2$ and the permanent state of Moore and Read for $\ensuremath{\nu}=1$. For purely repulsive interactions, we also find evidence for a gapped Halperin state at $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/5$.

Conformal field theory approach to bulk wave functions in the fractional quantum Hall effect

We propose to describe bulk wave functions of fractional quantum Hall states in terms of correlators of non-unitary b/c-spin systems. These yield a promising conformal field theory analogon of the composite fermion picture of Jain. Fractional statistics is described by twist fields which naturally appear in the b/c-spin systems. We provide a geometrical interpretation of our approach in which bulk wave functions are seen as holomorphic functions over a ramified covering of the complex plane, where the ramification precisely resembles the fractional statistics of the quasi-particle excitations in terms of branch points on the complex plane. To extend Jain's main series, we use the concept of composite fermions pairing to spin singlets, which enjoys a natural description in terms of the particular c=-2 b/c-spin system as known from the Haldane-Rezayi state. In this way we derive conformal field theory proposals for lowest Landau level bulk wave functions for more general filling fractions. We obtain a natural classification of the experimentally confirmed filling fractions which does not contain prominent unobserved fillings. Furthermore, our scheme fits together with classifications in terms of K-matrices of effective multilayer theories leading to striking restrictions of these coupling matrices.

Pairing Symmetry Transitions in the Even-Denominator FQHE System

Transitions from a paired quantum Hall state to another quantum Hall state in bilayer systems are discussed in the framework of the edge theory. Starting from the edge theory for the Haldane-Rezayi state, it is shown that the charging effect of a bilayer system which breaks the SU(2) symmetry of the pseudo-spin shifts the central charge and the conformal dimensions of the fermionic fields which describe the pseudo-spin sector in the edge theory. This corresponds to the transition from Haldane-Rezayi state to Halperin's 331 state, or singlet d-wave to triplet p-wave ABM type paired state in the composite fermion picture. Considering interlayer tunneling, the tunneling rate-capacitance phase diagram for the $\nu=5/2$ paired bilayer system is discussed.

Paired states of fermions in two dimensions with breaking of parity and time-reversal symmetries and the fractional quantum Hall effect

We analyze pairing of fermions in two dimensions for fully gapped cases with broken parity (P) and time reversal (T), especially cases in which the gap function is an orbital angular momentum (l) eigenstate, in particular $l=\ensuremath{-}1$ (p wave, spinless, or spin triplet) and $l=\ensuremath{-}2$ (d wave, spin singlet). For $l\ensuremath{\ne}0,$ these fall into two phases, weak and strong pairing, which may be distinguished topologically. In the cases with conserved spin, we derive explicitly the Hall conductivity for spin as the corresponding topological invariant. For the spinless p-wave case, the weak-pairing phase has a pair wave function that is asympototically the same as that in the Moore-Read (Pfaffian) quantum Hall state, and we argue that its other properties (edge states, quasihole, and toroidal ground states) are also the same, indicating that nonabelian statistics is a generic property of such a paired phase. The strong-pairing phase is an abelian state, and the transition between the two phases involves a bulk Majorana fermion, the mass of which changes sign at the transition. For the d-wave case, we argue that the Haldane-Rezayi state is not the generic behavior of a phase but describes the asymptotics at the critical point between weak and strong pairing, and has gapless fermion excitations in the bulk. In this case the weak-pairing phase is an abelian phase, which has been considered previously. In the p-wave case with an unbroken $U(1)$ symmetry, which can be applied to the double layer quantum Hall problem, the weak-pairing phase has the properties of the 331 state, and with nonzero tunneling there is a transition to the Moore-Read phase. The effects of disorder on noninteracting quasiparticles are considered. The gapped phases survive, but there is an intermediate thermally conducting phase in the spinless p-wave case, in which the quasiparticles are extended.

Unified approach to quasi-particle excitations in the edge states of paired Hall states

We consider the edge states of the quantum Hall paired states, which were introduced as the ground-state wave function for $\ensuremath{\nu}=\frac{5}{2}.$ We propose that the paired Hall states such as the Haldane-Rezayi state and the Pfaffian state have the supersymmetry, and we clarify the exclusion statistics of the quasi-particle excitations. By use of an idea of the ``restricted partition function'' for the quasi-particle excitations and its relationship with the q-special functions, we explicitly compute the distribution functions for the quasi-particle. We also calculate the specific heat and show that our results coincide with previously reported results based on the conformal field theory. We further show that there is a duality between the Pfaffian state and the Haldane-Rezayi state.

Spin-Singlet Hierarchy in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect

We show that the so-called permanent quantum Hall states are formed by the integer quantum Hall effects on the Haldane-Rezayi quantum Hall state. Novel conformal field theory description along with this picture is deduced. The odd denominator plateaux observed around $\nu=5/2$ are the permanent states if the $\nu=5/2$ plateau is the Haldane-Rezayi state. We point out that there is no such hierarchy on other candidate states for $\nu=5/2$. We propose experiments to test our prediction.

Modular invariants in the fractional quantum Hall effect

We investigate the modular properties of the characters which appear in the partition functions of non-abelian fractional quantum Hall states. We first give the annulus partition function for non-abelian FQH states formed by spinon and holon (spinon-holon state). The degrees of freedom of spin are described by the affine SU(2) Kac-Moody algebra at level k. The partition function and the Hilbert space of the edge excitations decomposed differently according to whether k is even or odd. We then investigate the full modular properties of the extended characters for non-abelian fractional quantum Hall states. We explicitly verify the modular invariance of the annulus grand partition functions for spinon-holon states, the Pfaffian state and the 331 states. This enables one to extend the relation between the modular behavior and the topological order to non-abelian cases. For the Haldane-Rezayi state, we find that the extended characters do not form a representation of the modular group, thus the modular invariance is broken. We also find a new relation between the Haldane-Rezayi state and the 331 state and suggest its implications for ‘The v = 5 2 Enigma’.

A Unified Conformal Field Theory Description¶of Paired Quantum Hall States

The wave functions of the Haldane-Rezayi paired Hall state have been previously described by a non-unitary conformal field theory with central charge c=-2. Moreover, a relation with the c=1 unitary Weyl fermion has been suggested. We construct the complete unitary theory and show that it consistently describes the edge excitations of the Haldane-Rezayi state. Actually, we show that the unitary (c=1) and non-unitary (c=-2) theories are related by a local map between the two sets of fields and by a suitable change of conjugation. The unitary theory of the Haldane-Rezayi state is found to be the same as that of the 331 paired Hall state. Furthermore, the analysis of modular invariant partition functions shows that no alternative unitary descriptions are possible for the Haldane-Rezayi state within the class of rational conformal field theories with abelian current algebra. Finally, the known c=3/2 conformal theory of the Pfaffian state is also obtained from the 331 theory by a reduction of degrees of freedom which can be physically realized in the double-layer Hall systems.

Quasiholes and fermionic zero modes of paired fractional quantum Hall states: The mechanism for non-Abelian statistics.

The quasihole states of several paired states, the Pfaffian, Haldane-Rezayi, and 331 states, which under certain conditions may describe electrons at filling factor \ensuremath{\nu}=1/2 or 5/2, are studied analytically and numerically in the spherical geometry, for the Hamiltonians for which the ground state are known exactly. We also find all the ground states (without quasiparticles) for these systems in the toroidal geometry. In each case, a complete set of linearly independent functions that are energy eigenstates of zero energy is found explicitly. For fixed positions of the quasiholes, the number of linearly independent states is ${2}^{\mathit{n}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ for the Pfaffian, and ${2}^{2\mathit{n}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$ for the Haldane-Rezayi state; these degeneracies are needed if these systems are to possess non-Abelian statistics, and they agree with predictions based on conformal field theory. The dimensions of the spaces of states for each number of quasiholes agree with numerical results for moderate system sizes. The effects of tunneling and of the Zeeman term are discussed for the 331 and Haldane-Rezayi states, as well as the relation to Laughlin states of electron pairs. A model introduced by Ho, which was supposed to connect the 331 and Pfaffian states, is found to have the same degeneracies of zero-energy states as the 331 state, except at its Pfaffian point where it is much more highly degenerate than either the 331 or the Pfaffian. We introduce a modification of the model which has the degeneracies of the 331 state everywhere including the Pfaffian point; at the latter point, tunneling reduces the degeneracies to those of the Pfaffian state. An experimental difference is pointed out between the Laughlin states of electron pairs and the other paired states, in the current-voltage response when electrons tunnel into the edge. An appendix contains results for the permanent state, in which the zero modes can be occupied by composite bosons, rather than by composite fermions as in the other cases; the system is found to have an incipient instability toward a spin-polarized state. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Edge excitations of paired fractional quantum Hall states.

The Hilbert spaces of the edge excitations of several ``paired'' fractional quantum Hall states, namely the Pfaffian, Haldane-Rezayi and 331 states, are constructed and the states at each angular momentum level are enumerated. The method is based on finding all the zero energy states for those Hamiltonians for which each of these known ground states is the exact, unique, zero-energy eigenstate of lowest angular momentum in the disk geometry. For each state, we find that, in addition to the usual bosonic charge-fluctuation excitations, there are fermionic edge excitations. The edge states can be built out of quantum fields that describe the fermions, in addition to the usual scalar bosons (or Luttinger liquids) that describe the charge fluctuations. The fermionic fields in the Pfaffian and 331 cases are a non-interacting Majorana (i.e., real Dirac) and Dirac field, respectively. For the Haldane-Rezayi state, the field is an anticommuting scalar. For this system we exhibit a chiral Lagrangian that has manifest SU(2) symmetry but breaks Lorentz invariance because of the breakdown of the spin statistics connection implied by the scalar nature of the field and the positive definite norm on the Hilbert space. Finally we consider systems on a cylinder where the fluid has two edges and construct the sectors of zero energy states, discuss the projection rules for combining states at the two edges, and calculate the partition function for each edge excitation system at finite temperature in the thermodynamic limit. It is pointed out that the conformal field theories for the edge states are examples of orbifold constructions.

Chiral operator product algebra and edge excitations of a fractional quantum Hall droplet

In this paper we study the spectrum of low-energy edge excitations of a fractional quantum Hall (FQH) droplet. We show how to generate, by conformal field theory (CFT) techniques, the many-electron wave functions for the edge states. And we propose to classify the spectrum of the edge states by the same chiral operator product algebra (OPA) that appears in the CFT description of the ground state in the bulk. This bulk-edge correspondence is suggested particularly for FQH systems that support quasiparticles obeying non-abelian braid statistics, including the v = 5 2 Haldane-Rezayi state. Numerical diagonalization to count the low-lying edge states has been done for several non-abelian FQH systems, showing good agreement in all cases with the chiral OPA predictions. The specific heat of the edge excitations in those non-abelian states is also calculated.

Chiral operator product algebra hidden in certain fractional quantum Hall wave functions

In this paper we study the conditions under which an N-electron wave function for a fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state can be viewed as an N-point correlation function in a conformal field theory (CFT). Several concrete examples are presented to illustrate, when these conditions are satisfied, how to “derive” or “uncover” a relevant operator algebra in the associated CFT from the FQH wave functions. Besides the known pfaffian state, the states studied here include three d-wave paired states, one for spinless electrons and two for spin- 1 2 electrons (one of them is the Haldane-Rezayi state). It is suggested that the non-abelian topological order hidden in these states can be characterized by their associated chiral operator product algebra, from which one may infer the quantum numbers of quasiparticles and calculate their wave functions.