Quantum Hall Fluid Research Articles

Magnetic-moment oscillations in a quantum Hall ring

We predict nonmesoscopic oscillations in the orbital magnetic moment of a thin semiconductor ring in the quantum Hall effect regime. These oscillations, which occur as a function of magnetic field because of a competition between paramagnetic and diamagnetic currents in the ring, are a direct probe of the equilibrium current distribution in the nonuniform quantum Hall fluid. The amplitude of the oscillating moment in a thin ring with major radius $R$ and minor radius (half-width) $a$ is approximately $aRe{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{c}∕c$, where ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{c}$ is the cyclotron frequency.

Photoassisted current and shot noise in the fractional quantum Hall effect

The effect of an AC perturbation on the shot noise of a fractional quantum Hall fluid is studied both in the weak and the strong backscattering regimes. It is known that the zero-frequency current is linear in the bias voltage, while the noise derivative exhibits steps as a function of bias. In contrast, at Laughlin fractions, the backscattering current and the backscattering noise both exhibit evenly spaced singularities, which are reminiscent of the tunneling density of states singularities for quasiparticles. The spacing is determined by the quasiparticle charge $\nu e$ and the ratio of the DC bias with respect to the drive frequency. Photo--assisted transport can thus be considered as a probe for effective charges at such filling factors, and could be used in the study of more complicated fractions of the Hall effect. A non-perturbative method for studying photo--assisted transport at $\nu=1/2$ is developed, using a refermionization procedure.

A quantum Hall fluid of vortices

In this note we demonstrate that vortices in a non-relativistic Chern-Simons theory form a quantum Hall fluid. We show that the vortex dynamics is controlled by the matrix mechanics previously proposed by Polychronakos as a description of the quantum Hall droplet. As the number of vortices becomes large, they fill the plane and a hydrodynamic treatment becomes possible, resulting in the non-commutative theory of Susskind. Key to the story is the recent D-brane realisation of vortices and their moduli spaces.

A matrix model for bilayered quantum Hall systems

We develop a matrix model to describe bilayered quantum Hall fluids for a series of filling factors. Considering two coupling layers, and starting from a corresponding action, we construct its vacuum configuration at \nu=q_iK_{ij}^{-1}q_j, where K_{ij} is a 2\times 2 matrix and q_i is a vector. Our model allows us to reproduce several well-known wave functions. We show that the wave function \Psi_{(m,m,n)} constructed years ago by Yoshioka, MacDonald and Girvin for the fractional quantum Hall effect at filling factor {2\over m+n} and in particular \Psi_{(3,3,1)} at filling {1\over 2} can be obtained from our vacuum configuration. The unpolarized Halperin wave function and especially that for the fractional quantum Hall state at filling factor {2\over 5} can also be recovered from our approach. Generalization to more than 2 layers is straightforward.

Model for breakdown of laminar flow of a quantum Hall fluid around a charged impurity: comparison with experiment

In samples used to maintain the US resistance standard the breakdown of the dissipationless integer quantum Hall effect occurs as a series of dissipative voltage steps. A mechanism for this type of breakdown is proposed, based on the generation of magneto-excitons when the quantum Hall fluid flows past an ionised impurity above a critical velocity. The calculated generation rate gives a voltage step height in good agreement with measurements. We also compare this model to a hydrodynamic description of breakdown.

Chiral Luttinger liquids at the fractional quantum Hall edge

The edges of quantum Hall fluids behave as one-dimensional conductors. This article reviews electron transport into these edge states, covering both the theory based on the chiral Luttinger liquid and the experimental findings using electron tunneling as the probe. The first part of the review presents a basic description of this theory, including a derivation of the density of states, to provide a framework and language for discussing the experimental observations. The signature of the chiral Luttinger liquid is a power-law behavior for the density of states and the tunneling conductances. Experimentally, two techniques have been applied to study the tunneling conductance, using a gated point contact between two quantum Hall edges, or using a cleaved-edge barrier between an edge and a normal conductor. The point-contact method exhibits resonant tunneling, which appears to show some aspects of the Luttinger liquid, and the cleaved-edge method has yielded clear power-law dependences in the off-resonance conductances. Power-law behavior over many orders of magnitude is observed, confirming the Luttinger-liquid character of the edge states. However, the power-law exponents, while in agreement with finite-size numerical calculations, can differ from the universal values predicted by the Chern-Simon field theory. This disagreement is still not well understood. The review concludes with a brief survey of other one-dimensional conductors that have been studied to look for characteristics of the nonchiral Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid.

On plane wave and vortex-like solutions of noncommutative Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory

We investigate the spectrum of the gauge theory with Chern-Simons term on the noncommutative plane, a modification of the description of the Quantum Hall fluid recently proposed by Susskind. We find a series of the noncommutative massive ``plane wave'' solutions with polarization dependent on the magnitude of the wave-vector. The mass of each branch is fixed by the quantization condition imposed on the coefficient of the noncommutative Chern-Simons term. For the radially symmetric ansatz a vortex-like solution is found and investigated. We derive a nonlinear difference equation describing these solutions and we find their asymptotic form. These excitations should be relevant in describing the Quantum Hall transitions between plateaus and the end transition to the Hall Insulator.

Double point contact in quantum Hall line junctions.

We show that multiple point contacts on a barrier separating two laterally coupled quantum Hall fluids induce Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations in the tunneling conductance. These quantum coherence effects provide new evidence for the Luttinger liquid behavior of the edge states of quantum Hall fluids. For a two point contact, we identify coherent and incoherent regimes determined by the relative magnitude of their separation and the temperature. We analyze both regimes in the strong and weak tunneling amplitude limits as well as their temperature dependence. We find that the tunneling conductance should exhibit AB oscillations in the coherent regime, both at strong and weak tunneling amplitudes with the same period but with different functional form.

Model for the Voltage Steps in the Breakdown of the Integer Quantum Hall Effect

In samples used to maintain the U.S. resistance standard the breakdown of the dissipationless integer quantum Hall effect occurs as a series of dissipative voltage steps. A mechanism for this type of breakdown is proposed, based on the generation of magnetoexcitons when the quantum Hall fluid flows past an ionized impurity above a critical velocity. The calculated generation rate gives a voltage step height in good agreement with measurements on both electron and hole gases. We also compare this model to a hydrodynamic description of breakdown.

Metallic nature of the four-dimensional quantum hall edge

We study the density response of the four-dimensional quantum Hall fluid found by Zhang and Hu, which has been advanced as a model of emergent relativity. We calculate the density–density correlation function along the edge at half-filling, and show that it is similar to the three-dimensional free electron gas. This indicates that the edge of the four-dimensional quantum Hall fluid behaves like a metal.

Non-commutative algebra of functions of 4-dimensional quantum Hall droplet

We develop the description of non-commutative geometry of the 4-dimensional quantum Hall fluid's theory proposed recently by Zhang and Hu. The non-commutative structure of fuzzy S 4, which is the base of the bundle S 7 obtained by the second Hopf fibration, i.e., S 7/ S 3= S 4, appears naturally in this theory. The fuzzy monopole harmonics, which are the essential elements in the non-commutative algebra of functions on S 4, are explicitly constructed and their obeying the matrix algebra is obtained. This matrix algebra is associative. We also propose a fusion scheme of the fuzzy monopole harmonics of the coupling system from those of the subsystems, and determine the fusion rule in such fusion scheme. By products, we provide some essential ingredients of the theory of SO(5) angular momentum. In particular, the explicit expression of the coupling coefficients, in the theory of SO(5) angular momentum, are given. We also discuss some possible applications of our results to the 4-dimensional quantum Hall system and the matrix brane construction in M-theory.

TUNNELING EFFECTS IN A BRANE SYSTEM AND QUANTUM HALL PHYSICS

We argue that a system of interacting D-branes, generalizing a recent proposal, can be modeled as a quantum Hall fluid. We show that tachyon condensation in such a system is equivalent to one-particle tunneling. In a conformal field theory effective description, that induces a transition from a theory with central charge c = 2 to a theory with c = 3/2, with a corresponding symmetry enhancement.

NC Branes and Hierarchies in Quantum Hall Fluids

We develop the non commutative Chern-Simons gauge model analysis modeling the description of the hierarchical states of fractional quantum Hall fluids. For a generic level $n$ of the hierarchy, we show that the order parameter matrix $K_{ab}$ is given by $ \theta^{-2}Tr(\tau_a \tau_b)$, where $\{\tau_a, 1\leq a \leq n \}$ define a specific set of $n\times n$ matrices depending on the parameter $\theta$ and the levels $l_a$ of the CS effective field theory. Our analysis predicts the existence of a third order tensor of order parameters $C_{abc}$ induced by the external magnetic field. It is shown that the $C_{abc}$'s are not new order parameters and are given by $\theta d_{abc}$, where $d_{abc}$ are numbers depending on the $l_a$'s. We also give the generalized quantum Hall soliton extending the one obtained in the case of the Laughlin state.

The stringy quantum Hall fluid

Using branes in massive Type IIA string theory, and a novel decoupling limit, we provide an explicit correspondence between non-commutative Chern-Simons theory and the fractional quantum Hall fluid. The role of the electrons is played by D-particles, the background magnetic field corresponds to a RR 2-form flux, and the two-dimensional fluid is described by non-commutative D2-branes. The filling fraction is given by the ratio of the number of D2-branes and the number of D8-branes, and therefore by the ratio rank/level of the Chern-Simons gauge theory. Quasiparticles and quasiholes are realized as endpoints of fundamental strings on the D2-branes, and are found to possess fractional D-particle charges and fractional statistics.

Quantum Hall physics = noncommutative field theory

In this note, we study a matrix-regularized version of non-commutative U(1) Chern-Simons theory proposed recently by Polychronakos. We determine a complete minimal basis of exact wavefunctions for the theory at arbitrary level k and rank N and show that these are in one-to-one correspondence with Laughlin-type wavefunctions describing excitations of a quantum Hall droplet composed of N electrons at filling fraction 1/k. The finite matrix Chern-Simons theory is shown to be precisely equivalent to the theory of composite fermions in the lowest Landau level, believed to provide an accurate description of the filling fraction 1/k fractional quantum Hall state. In the large N limit, this implies that level k noncommutative U(1) Chern-Simons theory is equivalent to the Laughlin theory of the filling fraction 1/k quantum Hall fluid, as conjectured recently by Susskind.

Finite noncommutative Chern-Simons with a Wilson line and the quantum Hall effect

We present a finite dimensional matrix model associated to the noncommutative Chern-Simons theory, obtained by inserting a Wilson line. For a specific choice of the representation of the Wilson line the model is equivalent to the minimal modification of the matrix model which is compatible with finite dimensional matrices, and was introduced previously to study droplets of quantum Hall fluid. For other representations we obtain generalizations corresponding to regularized U(n) Chern-Simons theoris, representing multilayered quantum Hall fluids.

Quantum Hall states on the cylinder as unitary matrix Chern-Simons theory

We propose a unitary matrix Chern-Simons model representing fractional quantum Hall fluids of finite extent on the cylinder. A mapping between the states of the two systems is established. Standard properties of Laughlin theory, such as the quantization of the inverse filling fraction and of the quasiparticle number, are reproduced by the quantum mechanics of the matrix model. We also point out that this system is holographically described in terms of the one-dimensional Sutherland integrable particle system.

Quantum Hall states as matrix Chern-Simons theory

We propose a finite Chern-Simons matrix model on the plane as an effective description of fractional quantum Hall fluids of finite extent. The quantization of the inverse filling fraction and of the quasiparticle number is shown to arise quantum mechanically and to agree with Laughlin theory. We also point out the effective equivalence of this model, and therefore of the quantum Hall system, with the Calogero model.

Quantum Hall effect breakdown steps: evidence for an instability induced by inter-Landau level scattering

The breakdown of the integer quantum Hall effect at high currents sometimes occurs as a series of regular steps in the dissipative voltage drop measured along the Hall bar. The steps were first seen clearly in two Hall bars used to maintain the US Resistance Standard, but have also been reported in other devices. This paper discusses the origin of the steps in terms of an instability in the dissipationless flow induced by inter-Landau level tunnelling processes due to charged impurities in local microscopic regions of the Hall bar. It is proposed that electron–hole pairs are generated in the quantum Hall fluid in these regions at high flow rates and that the electronic motion can be envisaged as a quantum analogue of the von Karman vortex street which forms when a classical fluid flows past an obstacle.

Conformal field theory and edge excitations for the principal series of quantum Hall fluids

Motivated by recent experimental results, we reconsider the theory of the edge excitations for the fractional Hall effect at filling factors $\nu=p/(2np+1)$. We propose to modify the standard $u(1)\otimes su(p)$ edge theory for this series by introducing twist fields which change the boundary conditions of the bosonic fields and simulate the effect of fractions of flux quanta $\phi_0/p$. This has the effect of removing the conserved charges associated to the neutral modes while keeping the right statistics of the particles. The Green function of the electron in presence of twists decays at long distance with an exponent varying continuously with $\nu$.