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arXiv:2111.10395 · Physical Review X

Very-High-Energy Collective States of Partons in Fractional Quantum Hall Liquids

Ajit Coimbatore Balram, Zhao Liu, Andrey Gromov, Zlatko Papić

Published Apr 12, 2022• 36 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The low-energy physics of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states-a paradigm of strongly correlated topological phases of matter-to a large extent is captured by weakly interacting quasiparticles known as composite fermions.In this paper, based on numerical simulations and effective field theory, we argue that some high-energy states in the FQH spectra necessitate a different description based on parton quasiparticles.We show that Jain states at filling factor ν ¼ n=ð2pn Æ 1Þ with integers n, p ≥ 2 support two kinds of collective modes: In addition to the well-known Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman (GMP) mode, they host a high-energy collective mode, which we interpret as the GMP mode of partons.We elucidate observable signatures of the parton mode in the dynamics following a geometric quench.We construct a microscopic wave function for the parton mode and demonstrate agreement between its variational energy and exact diagonalization.Using the parton construction, we derive a field theory of the Jain states and show that the previously proposed effective theories follow from our approach.Our results point to partons being "real" quasiparticles which, in a way reminiscent of quarks, become observable only at sufficiently high energies.

DOI
10.1103/physrevx.12.021008

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The low-energy physics of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states-a paradigm of strongly correlated topological phases of matter-to a large extent is captured by weakly interacting quasiparticles known as composite fermions.In this paper, based on numerical simulations and effective field theory, we argue that some high-energy states in the FQH spectra necessitate a different description based on parton quasiparticles.We show that Jain states at filling factor ν ¼ n=ð2pn Æ 1Þ with integers n, p ≥ 2 support two kinds of collective modes: In addition to the well-known Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman (GMP) mode, they host a high-energy collective mode, which we interpret as the GMP mode of partons.We elucidate observable signatures of the parton mode in the dynamics following a geometric quench.We construct a microscopic wave function for the parton mode and demonstrate agreement between its variational energy and exact diagonalization.Using the parton construction, we derive a field theory of the Jain states and show that the previously proposed effective theories follow from our approach.Our results point to partons being "real" quasiparticles which, in a way reminiscent of quarks, become observable only at sufficiently high energies.
Collective modes capture the dynamical aspects of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) fluids. Depending on the active degrees of freedom, different types of collective modes can arise in a FQH state. In this work, we consider spinful FQH states in the lowest Landau level (LLL) along the Jain sequence of fillings ν=n/(2n±1)ν{=}n/(2n{\pm}1)ν=n/(2n±1) and compute the Coulomb dispersion of their spin-flip and spin-conserving collective modes in the spherical geometry. We use the LLL-projected density-wave and composite fermion (CF) exciton states as trial wave functions for these modes. To evaluate the dispersion of density-wave states, we derive the commutation algebra of spinful LLL-projected density operators on the sphere, which enables us to extract the gap of the density-wave excitations from the numerically computed density-density correlation function, i.e., the static structure factor, of the FQH ground state. We find that the CF excitons provide an accurate description of the collective modes at all wavelengths, while the density-wave states fail to do so. Specifically, the spin-flip density wave reliably captures the spin-flip collective mode only for the Laughlin and Halperin states, and that too only in the long-wavelength limit. Interestingly, for spin-singlet primary Jain states, the spin-conserving density mode is inaccurate even in the long-wavelength regime. We show that this discrepancy stems from the presence of an additional high-energy spin-conserving parton mode, similar to that found in fully polarized secondary Jain states at ν=n/(4n±1)ν{=}n/(4n{\pm}1)ν=n/(4n±1). We propose an ansatz for this parton mode and compute its Coulomb dispersion in the singlet state at ν=2/5ν{=}2/5ν=2/5. The predicted parton mode can be observed in circularly polarized inelastic light scattering experiments.
We derive an effective field theory for the isotropic-nematic quantum phase transition of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states. We demonstrate that for a system with an isotropic background the low-energy effective theory of the nematic order parameter has z=2z=2z=2 dynamical scaling exponent, due to a Berry phase term of the order parameter, which is related to the non-dissipative Hall viscosity. Employing the composite fermion theory with a quadrupolar interaction between electrons, we show that a sufficiently attractive quadrupolar interaction triggers a phase transition from the isotropic FQH fluid into a nematic fractional quantum Hall phase. By investigating the spectrum of collective excitations, we demonstrate that the mass gap of Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman (GMP) mode collapses at the isotropic-nematic quantum phase transition. On the other hand, Laughlin quasiparticles and the Kohn collective mode remain gapped at this quantum phase transition, and Kohn's theorem is satisfied. The leading couplings between the nematic order parameter and the gauge fields include a term of the same form as Wen-Zee term. A disclination of the nematic order parameter carries an unquantized electric charge. We also discuss the relation between nematic degrees of freedom and the geometrical response of the fractional quantum Hall fluid.
The composite fermion (CF) theory gives both a phenomenological description for many fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states, as well as a microscopic construction for large scale numerical calculation of these topological phases. The fundamental postulate of mapping FQH states of electrons to integer quantum Hall (IQH) states of CFs, however, was not formally established. The Landau level (LL) projection needed for the microscopic calculations is in some sense uncontrolled and unpredictable. We rigorously derive the unitary relationship between electrons and the CFs, showing the latter naturally emerge from special interactions within a single LL, without resorting to any projection by hand. In this framework, all FQH states topologically equivalent to those described by the conventional CF theory (e.g., the Jain series) have exact model Hamiltonians that can be explicitly derived, and we can easily generalize to FQH states from interacting CFs. Our derivations reveal fundamental connections between the CF theory and the pseudopotential/Jack polynomial constructions, and argue that all Abelian CF states are physically equivalent to the IQH states, while a plethora of non-Abelian CF states can be systematically constructed and classified. We also discuss about implications to experiments and effective field theory descriptions based on the descriptions with CFs as elementary particles.
The fractional quantum Hall fluid is a two-dimensional quantum fluid of electrons subject to a strong magnetic field at low temperatures.Neutral excitations in a fractional quantum Hall droplet define the incompressibility gap of the topological phase.Among these states, there are some specific modes in the long-wavelength limit that can be understood as "spin-2 gravitons".In this thesis, we will introduce a set of analytical results for the energy gap of the graviton modes for model Hamiltonians in the thermodynamic limit, which is governed by a well-defined and universal characteristic tensor.These results can help to construct model Hamiltonians for the graviton modes of different FQH phases and elucidate a hierarchical structure of conformal Hilbert spaces (null spaces of model Hamiltonians) containing the graviton modes and their corresponding ground states.An isomorphism can be defined for these conformal Hilbert spaces, and the mapping between them can be regarded as a more rigorous and general reinterpretation of the composite fermionization of FQH states, with naturally emergent composite fermions (each consisting of one electron and an even number of fluxes).The results from exact diagonalization will be shown, which confirm that for gapped phases, low-lying neutral excitations can undergo a phase transition even when the ground state remains in the same phase.Furthermore, the gaplessness of the Gaffnian state could be testified based on this formalism with further numerical experiments.Recently there has been numerical evidence implying the signature of multiple graviton modes.We will introduce the microscopic theory for the emergence of multiple gravitons in fractional quantum Hall droplets based on composite fermionization and the well-defined particle-hole conjugate within a specific conformal Hilbert space.This reveals the dynamical nature of this phenomenon and provides theoretical insights into the chirality and the "merging and splitting" behaviors of the graviton modes.The experimental relevance of multiple graviton modes will be discussed.The microscopic theory of gravitons can also provide valuable insights into the field-theoretical approaches.
The energy spectra and wave functions of up to 14 interacting quasielectrons (QE's) in the Laughlin $\ensuremath{\nu}=\frac{1}{3}$ fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state are investigated using exact numerical diagonalization. It is shown that at sufficiently high density the QE's form pairs or larger clusters. This behavior, opposite to Laughlin correlations, invalidates the (sometimes invoked) reapplication of the composite fermion picture to the individual QE's. The series of finite-size incompressible ground states are identified at the QE filling factors ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{QE}}=\frac{1}{2},$ 13,\frac{1}{3},31​, 23,\frac{2}{3},32​, corresponding to the electron fillings $\ensuremath{\nu}=\frac{3}{8},$ 411,\frac{4}{11},114​, 513.\frac{5}{13}.135​. The equivalent quasihole (QH) states occur at ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{QH}}=\frac{1}{4},$ 15,\frac{1}{5},51​, 27,\frac{2}{7},72​, corresponding to $\ensuremath{\nu}=\frac{3}{10},$ 413,\frac{4}{13},134​, 517.\frac{5}{17}.175​. All these six novel FQH states were recently discovered experimentally. Detailed analysis indicates that QE or QH correlations in these states are different from those of well-known FQH electron states (e.g., Laughlin or Moore--Read states), leaving the origin of their incompressibility uncertain. Halperin's idea of Laughlin states of QP pairs is also explored, but is does not seem adequate.
We study fractional quantum Hall states at filling fractions in the Jain sequences using the framework of composite Dirac fermions. Synthesizing previous work, we write an effective field theory consistent with all symmetry requirements, including Galilean invariance and particle-hole symmetry. Employing a Fermi-liquid description, we demonstrate the appearance of the Girvin-Macdonald-Platzman algebra and compute the dispersion relation of neutral excitations and various response functions. Our results satisfy requirements of particle-hole symmetry. We show that while the dispersion relation obtained from the modified random-phase approximation (MRPA) of the Halperin-Lee-Read (HLR) theory is particle-hole symmetric, correlation functions obtained from this scheme are not. The results of the Dirac theory are shown to be consistent with the Haldane bound on the projected structure factor, while those of the MPRA of the HLR theory violate it.