Fractional angular momentum, fractional charge, and oscillators

Steven Bentley Bildstein

Yuhe Zhang, G. J. Sreejith, Nathan Gemelke +1 more

The quantum statistics of bosons or fermions are manifest through the even or odd relative angular momentum of a pair. We show theoretically that, under certain conditions, a pair of certain test particles immersed in a fractional quantum Hall state possesses, effectively, a fractional relative angular momentum, which can be interpreted in terms of fractional braid statistics. We propose that the fractionalization of the angular momentum can be detected directly through the measurement of the pair correlation function in rotating ultracold atomic systems in the fractional quantum Hall regime. Such a measurement will also provide direct evidence for the effective magnetic field resulting from Berry phases arising from attached vortices, and of excitations with a fractional particle number, analogous to the fractional charge of the electron fractional quantum Hall effect.

Eugen Merzbacher

Jian Jing, Qiu-Yue Zhang, Qing Wang +2 more

Inspired by the electromagnetic duality, we propose an approach to realize the fractional angular momentum by using a cold atom which possesses a permanent magnetic dipole momentum. This atom interacts with two electric fields and is trapped by a harmonic potential which enable the motion of the atom to be planar and rotationally symmetric. We show that eigenvalues of the canonical angular momentum of the cold atom can take fractional values when the atom is cooled down to its lowest kinetic energy level. The fractional part of canonical angular momentum is dual to that of the fractional angular momenta realized by using a charged particle. Another approach of getting the fractional angular momentum is also presented. The differences between these two approaches are investigated.

Pedro Pereyra Padilla

Jian Jing, Qiu-Yue Zhang, Qing Wang +2 more

Inspired by the electromagnetic duality, we propose an approach to realize the fractional angular momentum by using a cold atom which possesses a permanent magnetic dipole momentum. This atom interacts with two electric fields and is trapped by a harmonic potential which enable the motion of the atom to be planar and rotationally symmetric. We show that eigenvalues of the canonical angular momentum of the cold atom can take fractional values when the atom is cooled down to its lowest kinetic energy level. The fractional part of canonical angular momentum is dual to that of the fractional angular momenta realized by using a charged particle. Another approach of getting the fractional angular momentum is also presented. The differences between these two approaches are investigated.