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arXiv:1009.4555 · Physical Review B

Equilibration of integer quantum Hall edge states

Dmitry L. Kovrizhin, J. T. Chalker

Published Aug 19, 2011• 47 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study equilibration of quantum Hall edge states at integer filling factors, motivated by experiments involving point contacts at finite bias. Idealizing the experimental situation and extending the notion of a quantum quench, we consider time evolution from an initial nonequilibrium state in a translationally invariant system. We show that electron interactions bring the system into a steady state at long times. Strikingly, this state is not a thermal one: Its properties depend on the full functional form of the initial electron distribution and not simply on the initial energy density. Further, we demonstrate that measurements of the tunneling density of states at long times can yield either an overestimate or an underestimate of the energy density, depending on details of the analysis, and discuss this finding in connection with an apparent energy loss observed experimentally. More specifically, we treat several separate cases: for filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=1$ we discuss relaxation due to finite-range or Coulomb interactions between electrons in the same channel, and for filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=2$ we examine relaxation due to contact interactions between electrons in different channels. In both instances we calculate analytically the long-time asymptotics of the single-particle correlation function. These results are supported by an exact solution at arbitrary time for the problem of relaxation at $\ensuremath{\nu}=2$ from an initial state in which the two channels have electron distributions that are both thermal but with unequal temperatures, for which we also examine the tunneling density of states.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.84.085105

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We study equilibration of quantum Hall edge states at integer filling factors, motivated by experiments involving point contacts at finite bias. Idealizing the experimental situation and extending the notion of a quantum quench, we consider time evolution from an initial nonequilibrium state in a translationally invariant system. We show that electron interactions bring the system into a steady state at long times. Strikingly, this state is not a thermal one: Its properties depend on the full functional form of the initial electron distribution and not simply on the initial energy density. Further, we demonstrate that measurements of the tunneling density of states at long times can yield either an overestimate or an underestimate of the energy density, depending on details of the analysis, and discuss this finding in connection with an apparent energy loss observed experimentally. More specifically, we treat several separate cases: for filling factor \ensuremathν=1\ensuremath{\nu}=1\ensuremathν=1 we discuss relaxation due to finite-range or Coulomb interactions between electrons in the same channel, and for filling factor \ensuremathν=2\ensuremath{\nu}=2\ensuremathν=2 we examine relaxation due to contact interactions between electrons in different channels. In both instances we calculate analytically the long-time asymptotics of the single-particle correlation function. These results are supported by an exact solution at arbitrary time for the problem of relaxation at \ensuremathν=2\ensuremath{\nu}=2\ensuremathν=2 from an initial state in which the two channels have electron distributions that are both thermal but with unequal temperatures, for which we also examine the tunneling density of states.
We use the nonequilibrium bosonization technique to investigate the effects of the Coulomb interaction on quantum Hall edge states at a filling factor ν=2, partitioned by a quantum point contact (QPC). We find that, due to the integrability of charge dynamics, edge states evolve to a nonequilibrium stationary state with a number of specific features. In particular, the noise temperature Θ of a weak backscattering current between edge channels is linear in voltage bias applied at the QPC, independently of the interaction strength. In addition, it is a nonanalytical function of the QPC transparency T and scales as Θ proportional Tln(1/T) at T << 1. Our predictions are confirmed by exact numerical calculations.
This thesis deals with the study of transport properties of integer and fractional QH edge states and it is based on the work I performed during my Ph.D. studies. The focus of this thesis is on Luttinger liquids far from equilibrium and their relaxation dynamics. Since Boltzmann, a fundamental aspect of statistical mechanics has been the understanding of the emergence of an equilibrium state. Interactions play a crucial role in the thermalization process that drives a system through states described by the Gibbs equilibrium ensemble. Therefore, it seems counterintuitive that a strongly interacting system, such as the Luttinger liquid, should not present any relaxation dynamics. This peculiar fact is due to the integrability of the Luttinger model, i.e. the existence of an infinite number of conserved quantities that precludes the equilibration process. However, in the past few years it has become clear that integrable systems can present some kind of relaxation, even though not towards the Gibbs equilibrium ensemble. Remarkably, the necessity of correctly taking into account some particular non-equilibrium configurations, also revealed the necessity of modifying bosonization, a technique widely used to study strongly interacting systems in one dimension. In this work we focus on three different cases: • Relaxation of high energy electrons injected in a ν = 1/3 chiral Luttinger liquid and in a standard Luttinger liquid. • Heating and the emergence of effective temperatures in a Quantum Hall system at fractional filling fraction ν = 2/3 partitioned by a Quantum Point Contact. • Effect of relaxation on shot-noise measurement of the quasi-particle charge in a ν = 2 QH state.
Equilibration to the state for a wide class of Luttinger liquid ballistic weakly linked tunnel contacts is extensively studied. Quantum fluctuations of tunnel current are considered in all orders in tunnel coupling and out of the equilibrium in the time domain. Especially, two important mathematical statements: Self-equilibration (SE-)theorem and Self-equilibration (SE-)lemma on the exact re-exponentiation of thermal average from the Keldysh-contour-ordered evolution operator for arbitrary weakly linked Luttinger liquid tunnel contact are proven. Demonstrated proof of SE-theorem and SE-lemma represents first evidence of a novel emergent phenomenon of in the dynamics of quantum fluctuations of electron transport through ballistic tunnel junctions. This phenomenon and all related real-time full counting statistics are shown to be much more general as compared to the usual Levitov-Lesovik scattering approach for the non-interacting electrons, though SE-theorem also contains known results obtained within the Levitov-Lesovik scattering approach as corresponding limiting case for lowest order cumulants at $ g=1 $. As the result, corresponding differential equation of for time-dependent Keldysh partition function of tunnel contact is derived and explained. As the consequence of obtained results, a universal character of self-equilibration of tunnel current in one-dimensional weakly linked tunnel junctions is revealed and studied on the level of non-equilibrium Fano factor. As well, a new measure of disequilibrium in such systems - the steady flow rate - is also introduced and discussed.
Quantum point contacts (QPC) are a key instrument in investigating the physics of edge excitations in the quantum Hall effect. However, at not-so-high bias voltage values, the predictions of the conventional point QPC model often deviate from the experimental data both in the integer and (more prominently) in the fractional quantum Hall regime. One of the possible explanations for such behaviors is the dependence of the tunneling between the edges on energy, an effect not present in the conventional model. Here we introduce two models that take QPC spatial extension into account: wide-QPC model that accounts for the distance along which the edges are in contact; long-QPC model accounts for the fact that the tunneling amplitude originates from a finite bulk gap and a finite distance between the two edges. We investigate the predictions of these two models in the integer quantum Hall regime for the energy dependence of the tunneling amplitude. We find that these two models predict opposite dependences: the amplitude decreasing or increasing away from the Fermi level. We thus elucidate the effect of the QPC geometry on the energy dependence of the tunneling amplitude and investigate its implications for transport observables.
We study edge dynamics in the presence of interlayer tunneling, parallel magnetic field, and various types of disorder for two infinite sequences of quantum Hall states in symmetric bilayers. These sequences begin with the 110 and 331 Halperin states and include their fractional descendants at lower filling factors; the former is easily realized experimentally while the latter is a candidate for the experimentally observed quantum Hall state at a total filling factor of 1/2 in bilayers. We discuss the experimentally interesting observables that involve just one chiral edge of the sample and the correlation functions needed for computing them. We present several methods for obtaining exact results in the presence of interactions and disorder that rely on the chiral character of the system. Of particular interest are our results on the 331 state, which suggest that a time-resolved measurement at the edge can be used to discriminate between the 331 and Pfaffian scenarios for the observed quantum Hall state at filling factor 1/2 in realistic double-layer systems.
We analyze the effect of Coulomb interactions on edge excitations of an electron gas confined in a bar of thickness WWW, and in the presence of a magnetic field corresponding to unit filling factor in the quantum Hall effect. We find that such long-range interactions between the edges result in a ground state with quasi-long-range order similar to a charge density wave. The spectral density of states vanishes at zero frequency and increases with frequency faster than any power law. We also find that the conductance of an infinitely long system is zero.