Topological invariants for fractional quantum hall states

We calculate a topological invariant, whose value would coincide with the Chern number in the case of integer quantum Hall effect, for fractional quantum Hall states. In the case of Abelian fractional quantum Hall states, this invariant is shown to be equal to the trace of the K-matrix. In the case of non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall states, this invariant can be calculated on a case by case basis from the conformal field theory describing these states. This invariant can be used, for example, to distinguish between different fractional Hall states numerically even though, as a single number, it cannot uniquely label distinct states.     

Continuous topological phase transitions between clean quantum hall states

Continuous transitions between states and the same symmetry but different topological orders are studied. Clean quantum Hall (QH) liquids with neutral nonbosonic quasiparticles are shown to have such transitions under the right conditions. For clean bilayer (mmn) states, a continuous transition to other QH states (including non-Abelian states) can be driven by increasing interlayer repulsion/tunneling. The effective theories describing the critical points at some transitions are obtained.     

Spin-dependent resistivity at transitions between integer quantum hall states

The longitudinal resistivity at transitions between integer quantum Hall states in two-dimensional electrons confined to AlAs quantum wells is found to depend on the spin orientation of the partially filled Landau level in which the Fermi energy resides. The resistivity can be enhanced by an order of magnitude as the spin orientation of this energy level is aligned with the majority spin. We discuss possible causes and suggest a new explanation for the spikelike features observed at the edges of quantum Hall minima near Landau level crossings.     

Resistivity peak values at the transition between fractional quantum hall states

Experimental data available in the literature for peak values of the diagonal resistivity in the transitions between the fractional quantum Hall states (ρ _xx ^max ) are compared with the theoretical predictions. It is found that the majority of the peak values are close to the theoretical values for two-dimensional systems with moderate mobilities. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Insulating and fractional quantum hall states in the first excited Landau level

The observation of new insulating phases of two-dimensional electrons in the first excited Landau level is reported. These states, which are manifested as reentrant integer quantized Hall effects, exist alongside well-developed even-denominator fractional quantized Hall states at nu = 7/2 and 5/2 and new odd-denominator states at nu = 3+1/5 and 3+4/5.     

Anyon interpolation between exact integer and fractional quantum hall states in an electric field

Summary The exact perturbed Laughlin wave function in the presence of a quadratic central electric potential is deduced by the so-called adiabatic heuristic. The corresponding exact expression for the fractional quantum Hall current density, including electric-field inhomogeneity effects, is evaluated and shown to be related by a simple scaling transformation to that for the integer case. This leads to conjecture that the effect of disorder in the fractional case can be derived in general from that in the integer case. The author of this paper has agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.     

On the fractional quantum hall effect

We show in the Hartree-Fock approximation that the formation of a two dimensional electron lattice allows for a natural explanation of the anomalous fractional quantum Hall effect. Landau levels are broadened and split in a number of bands in such a way that if the number of electrons per unit cell is a half odd integer the Fermi energy is in a gap for an odd filling fraction denominator, and at the center of a band if the denominator is even.     

Hydrodynamics of the quantum hall smectics

We propose a dynamical theory of the stripe phase arising in a two-dimensional electron liquid near half-integral fillings of high Landau levels. The system is modeled as a novel type of a smectic liquid crystal with Lorentz force dominated dynamics. We calculate the structure factor, the dispersion relation of the collective modes, and their intrinsic attenuation rate. We show that thermal fluctuations cause a strong power-law renormalization of the elastic and dissipative parameters familiar from the conventional smectics but with different dynamical scaling exponents.     

Optical investigation of spin-wave excitations in fractional quantum hall states and of interaction between composite fermions

We demonstrate that the temperature dependence of the electron spin polarization for the fractional states nu = 1/3 and nu = 2/3 displays activated behavior. This study enables the first measurement of the fractional quantum Hall spin-flip gaps. They are found to be systematically larger in comparison with the gaps simultaneously measured in transport. For nu = 1/3 and nu = 1/2, these spin-flip gaps allow the determination of the composite fermion interaction energy. This energy is investigated as a function of the finite width of the 2D channel.     

Interlayer tunneling in double-layer quantum hall pseudoferromagnets

We show that the interlayer tunneling I-V in double-layer quantum Hall states displays a rich behavior which depends on the relative magnitude of sample size, voltage length scale, current screening, disorder, and thermal lengths. For weak tunneling, we predict a negative differential conductance of a power-law shape crossing over to a sharp zero-bias peak. An in-plane magnetic field splits this zero-bias peak, leading instead to a "derivative" feature at V(B)(B(parallel)) = 2 pi Planck's over 2 pi upsilon B(parallel)d/e phi(0), which gives a direct measurement of the dispersion of the Goldstone mode corresponding to the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the double-layer Hall state.     

Conductivity tensor of striped quantum hall phases

We study the transport properties of pinned striped quantum Hall phases. We show that, under quite general assumptions, the macroscopic conductivity tensor satisfies a semicircle law. In particular, this result is valid for both smectic and nematic stripe phases, independent of the presence of topological and orientational defects such as dislocations and grain boundaries. As a special case, our results explain the experimental validity of a product rule for the dissipative part of the resistivity tensor, which was previously derived by MacDonald and Fisher (cond-mat/9907278) for a perfect stripe structure.     

Fractional quantum hall effect in infinite-layer systems

Stacked two dimensional electron systems in transverse magnetic fields exhibit three dimensional fractional quantum Hall phases. We analyze the simplest such phases and find novel bulk properties, e.g. , irrational braiding. These phases host "one and a half" dimensional surface phases in which motion in one direction is chiral. We offer a general analysis of conduction in the latter by combining sum rule and renormalization group arguments, and find that when interlayer tunneling is marginal or irrelevant they are chiral semimetals that conduct only at T > 0 or with disorder.     

Nonabelions in the fractional quantum hall effect

Applications of conformal field theory to the theory of fractional quantum Hall systems are discussed. In particular, Laughlin's wave function and its cousins are interpreted as conformal blocks in certain rational conformal field theories. Using this point of view a hamiltonian is constructed for electrons for which the ground state is known exactly and whose quasihole excitations have nonabelian statistics; we term these objects “nonabelions”. It is argued that universality classes of fractional quantum Hall systems can be characterized by the quantum numbers and statistics of their excitations. The relation between the order parameter in the fractional quantum Hall effect and the chiral algebra in rational conformal field theory is stressed, and new order parameters for several states are given.     

Anomalous magnetotransport in narrow quantum hall conductors

We present the anomalous magnetotransport observed in a narrow high mobility Hall device; both the peaks and minima in the Shubnikov de Haas oscillations of the longitudinal resistance appear in the quantized plateau region of the Hall resistance. We interpret this feature as a consequence of an inhomogeneous distribution of two dimensional electron gas and provide a quantitative view with a model based on the edge current picture.     

Vertical hall effect in GaAs quantum wells

Applying orthogonal in-plane electric and magnetic fields in a 2D system leads to the development of a Hall voltage across the width of the quantum well when the cyclotron orbit is greater than the well width. Tang and Butcher [1] have calculated the developed Hall voltage for a parabolic quantum well where they find that the Hall voltage is dependent on the frequency associated with the harmonic potential in the well. The limitation of this model is that it does not enable one to determine the well width dependence of the Hall Voltage, nor is it a particularly good model for a quantum well. It is also difficult to compare their model with the bulk result which would apply at large well widths. In this work we present a model calculation which considers a square quantum well and hence is able to predict the well width dependence of the Hall Voltage and compare the large well width case to the bulk result. An electro-optic probing method previously used to measure bulk Hall voltages [2] is shown to be capable of measuring the Hall 'voltage across a quantum well, and therefore can be used to confirm the prediction of the model presented here.     

Spin-wave relaxation in a quantum hall ferromagnet

We study spin wave relaxation in quantum Hall ferromagnet regimes. Spin-orbit coupling is considered as a factor determining spin nonconservation, and external random potential as a cause of energy dissipation making spin-flip processes irreversible. We compare this relaxation mechanism with other relaxation channels existing in a quantum Hall ferromagnet. The article is published in the original.     

Fractional quantum hall effect and vortex lattices

It is demonstrated that all observed fractions at moderate Landau-level fillings for the quantum Hall effect can be obtained without recourse to the phenomenological concept of composite fermions. The possibility of having the special topologically nontrivial many-electron wavefunctions is considered. Their group classification indicates the special values of the electron density in the ground states separated by a gap from the excited states. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

The influence of quantum fluctuations on quantum hall phases at large

We have explored the behavior of a two-dimensional hole system in the regime of very low densities and hence large r_s. The electronic phases at the largest magnetic fields have surprising behavior. We found that with decreasing density the reentrant insulating phase weakens until it completely disappears. We also found that at the collapse of the reentrant insulator the nearby fractional quantum Hall liquid is unexpectedly suppressed. Both of these properties can be understood as stemming from quantum fluctuations of the insulating electronic solid.