Master's thesis in Theoretical Physics. The official university title is "Fractional Quantum Hall Effect: Current State and Perspectives"; this record uses the author's preferred, more descriptive title. This thesis develops a unified description of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) and topological order through three complementary frameworks: microscopic trial many-body wavefunctions, the algebraic theory of anyons and unitary modular tensor categories, and Chern-Simons effective field theory. The first part covers the physical foundations—Landau quantization, the TKNN invariant, Laughlin's wavefunctions, the hierarchy and composite fermion theories, and some non-Abelian states like the Moore-Read Pfaffian state. The second part develops the algebraic theory of anyons, from the braid group to fusion rules, quantum dimensions, topological spins, and the F- and R-matrices that characterize a unitary modular tensor category. The third part constructs the Chern-Simons effective field theory, deriving fractional charge, statistics, and ground-state degeneracy, unifying Abelian states via the K-matrix formalism, and then generalizing to non-Abelian states through 𝑈(1)ₘ × 𝑆𝑈(𝑁)ₖ Chern-Simons theory. The central result is that Chern–Simons theory provides a field-theoretic realization of the topological order introduced microscopically and algebraically in the earlier chapters, closing the circle between the three descriptions and providing a unified framework for the FQHE and topological order and anyon's physics.
Master's thesis in Theoretical Physics. The official university title is "Fractional Quantum Hall Effect: Current State and Perspectives"; this record uses the author's preferred, more descriptive title. This thesis develops a unified description of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) and topological order through three complementary frameworks: microscopic trial many-body wavefunctions, the algebraic theory of anyons and unitary modular tensor categories, and Chern-Simons effective field theory. The first part covers the physical foundations—Landau quantization, the TKNN invariant, Laughlin's wavefunctions, the hierarchy and composite fermion theories, and some non-Abelian states like the Moore-Read Pfaffian state. The second part develops the algebraic theory of anyons, from the braid group to fusion rules, quantum dimensions, topological spins, and the F- and R-matrices that characterize a unitary modular tensor category. The third part constructs the Chern-Simons effective field theory, deriving fractional charge, statistics, and ground-state degeneracy, unifying Abelian states via the K-matrix formalism, and then generalizing to non-Abelian states through 𝑈(1)ₘ × 𝑆𝑈(𝑁)ₖ Chern-Simons theory. The central result is that Chern–Simons theory provides a field-theoretic realization of the topological order introduced microscopically and algebraically in the earlier chapters, closing the circle between the three descriptions and providing a unified framework for the FQHE and topological order and anyon's physics.
FINDING: Chern-Simons theory at level k governs fractional quantum Hall anyons; braiding produces non-abelian phases encoded in the Jones polynomial; lattice realizations confirm topological invariance; a novel CKM angle measurement is unrelated to topological physics. MATH: Chern-Simons action SCS=4πk∫Tr(A∧dA+32A∧A∧A); level k∈Z (integer QHE) or k=p/q (fractional QHE, e.g., k=1/3 for Laughlin state); anyon braiding phase θ=π/k (abelian) or unitary matrix Uab (non-abelian, e.g., Fibonacci anyons with U∼eiπ/5); entanglement entropy SA=αL−γ, with topological entanglement entropy γ=lnD, D=∑idi2 (quantum dimensions); lattice Chern-Simons reproduces continuum in limit a→0 with k quantized. CONNECTION: Level k=5 gives Fibonacci anyons with quantum dimension d=ϕ=1.618 (golden ratio) — di Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com
Fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states are examples of symmetry-enriched topological states (SETs): in addition to the intrinsic topological order, which is robust to symmetry breaking, they possess symmetry-protected topological invariants, such as fractional charge of anyons and fractional Hall conductivity. In this paper we develop a comprehensive theory of symmetry-protected topological invariants for FQH states with spatial symmetries, which applies to Abelian and non-Abelian topological states, by using a recently developed framework of G-crossed braided tensor categories (G×BTCs) for SETs. We consider systems with U(1) charge conservation, magnetic translational, and spatial rotational symmetries, in the continuum and for all 5 orientation-preserving crystalline space groups in two dimensions, allowing arbitrary rational magnetic flux per unit cell, and assuming that symmetries do not permute anyons. In the crystalline setting, applicable to fractional Chern insulators and spin liquids, symmetry fractionalization is fully characterized by a generalization to non-Abelian states of the charge, spin, discrete torsion, and area vectors, which specify fractional charge, angular momentum, linear momentum, and fractionalization of the translation algebra for each anyon. The topological response theory contains 9 terms, which attach charge, linear momentum, and angular momentum to magnetic flux, lattice dislocations, disclinations, corners, and units of area. Using the G×BTC formalism, we derive the formula relating charge filling to the Hall conductivity and flux per unit cell; in the continuum this relates the filling fraction and the Hall conductivity without assuming Galilean invariance. We provide systematic formulas for topological invariants within the G×BTC framework; this gives, for example, a new categorical definition of the Hall conductivity.
Nearly fifty years after its experimental debut, the quantum hall effect has produced perhaps more unique descriptions than any other subject of condensed matter physics. From topological band theory to non-commutative geometry, topological and conformal field theories, random matrix models and more, each approach captures a subset of the essential features, and compliments the others to produce a beautiful mosaic description. In this thesis, we revisit the fractional quantum hall (FQH) effect from its oldest vantage point, that of the trial wavefunctions and the parent Hamiltonians which stabilize them. Laughlin's observation of the importance of the theory of holomorphic functions to describing incompressible states in a partially filled Landau level has produced a coherent paradigm for realizing FQH parent Hamiltonians as frustration-free exactly-solvable one-dimensional models through dimensional reduction. Trial wavefunctions are then classified in terms of a small number of product states which generate all other states in the orbital-occupation expansion of the full state by a sequence of angular-momentum-preserving squeezing operations. These unentangled states are called the DNA of the FQH state, and they can be described in terms of simple local rules called generalized Pauli principles (GPP) of the form "at most r electrons can occupy k consecutive orbitals". It was only recently shown that an analysis of this form can be carried out in second-quantization for states with Landau level mixing, such as the Jain composite-fermion and parton series. In this case, the GPPs are generalized once further to entangled Pauli principles (EPP) for which the DNA may be entangled with respect to the extra Landau level index. In the first part of this thesis, we prove a theorem that allows for a rigorous computation of EPPs given a frustration free k-body parent Hamiltonian by examining only k-particle zero-modes, and give an example of its utility by demonstrating the exact-solvability of a correlated pair-hopping model that can be derived as a special limit of a FQH parent Hamiltonian. In the second part, taking advantage of the second quantized EPP analysis from the continuum, we derive a class of bosonic lattice models for states in multiple Landau levels which, in the presence of a contact interaction, are shown to stabilize non-Abelian ground states. Furthermore, we show how the EPP can be used to compute the degeneracies of quasihole excitations, and therefore the topological order through the bulk-boundary correspondence, which we verify with simple numerics. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first exponentially-local exactly-solvable fractional Chern insulator model for non-Abelian states with only two-body interactions.
Strong correlation among electrons under high magnetic field gives rise to an entirely new arena of emergent physics, namely fractional quantum Hall effect. Such systems have entirely different elementary degrees of freedom and generally, demand non-perturbative approaches to develop a better understanding. In the literature, there are several analytical methodologies and numerical toolkits available to study such a system. Clustering of zeros, parent Hamiltonian, off-diagonal order parameter, parton construction, matrix product states are to be named among a few of those popular methodologies in the existing literature. Most of these methods work well in the lowest Landau level or holomorphic wavefunction framework. It is, however, imperative to develop such methodology to study systems with Landau levels mixing to study more exotic as well as experimentally relevant states. In this work, we have developed particular methodologies, which denounce the traditional importance of the analytic properties of first quantized model wavefunction thereby extend the existing parent Hamiltonian, topological order-parameter, matrix product states descriptions to mixed Landau level systems. Such extension produces a deeper, compact and holistic understanding of universal physics of exotic phases in strongly correlated systems from the microscopic viewpoint, as well as produces interesting new results. Our second quantized/ non-analytic approach allows us to construct the ``entangled Pauli principle", a guidebook to extract universal/topological properties such as braiding statistics, fractional charge quantization, topological degeneracy of the ground states starting from a relatively simple many-body wavefunction, ``root pattern" of fractional quantum Hall state. Such an entangled Pauli principle can be derived from a microscopic parent Hamiltonian setting, thereby provide us a potential tool to probe the non-universal physics in quantum Hall fluids as well. Essentially, entangled Pauli principle is the ``DNA" of fractional quantum Hall states. Using this guiding principle, we have shown ground states with non-abelian excitations, such as Majorana fermion or Fibonacci fermion can be stabilized for two-particle interaction. Fibonacci fermion supports universal quantum gates, thereby a potential candidate for the topologically protected universal quantum computer. Entangled Pauli principle, along with a recently developed topological order parameter for composite fermions, gives rise to Parent Hamiltonian description for composite fermions as well.
The fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), now entering it's fourth decade, continues to draw attention from the condensed matter community. New experiments in recent years are raising hopes that it will be possible to observe quasi-particles with non-abelian anyonic statistics. These particles could form the building blocks of a quantum computer. The quantum Hall states have topologically protected energy gaps to the low-lying set of excitations. This topological order is not a locally measurable quantity but rather a non-local object, and it is one of the keys to it's stability. From an early stage understanding of the FQHE has been facilitate by constructing trial wave functions. The topological classification of these wave functions have given further insight to the nature of the FQHE. An early, and successful, wave function construction for filling fractions ν=p/(2p+1) was that of composite fermions on planar and spherical geometries. Recently, new developments using conformal field theory have made it possible to also construct the full Haldane-Halperin hierarchy wave functions on planar and spherical geometries. In this thesis we extend this construction to a toroidal geometry, i.e. a flat surface with periodic boundary conditions. One of the defining features of topological states of matter in two dimensions is that the ground state is not unique on surfaces with non trivial topology, such as a torus. The archetypical example is the fractional quantum Hall effect, where a state at filling fraction ν=p/q, has at least a q-fold degeneracy on a torus. This has been shown explicitly for a few cases, such as the Laughlin states and the the Moore-Read states, by explicit construction of candidate electron wave functions with good overlap with numerically found states. In this thesis, we construct explicit torus wave functions for a large class of experimentally important quantum liquids, namely the chiral hierarchy states in the lowest Landau level. These states, which includes the prominently observed positive Jain sequence at filling fractions ν=p/(2p+1), are characterized by having boundary modes with only one chirality. Our construction relies heavily on previous work that expressed the hierarchy wave functions on a plane or a sphere in terms of correlation functions in a conformal field theory. This construction can be taken over to the torus when care is taken to ensure correct behaviour under the modular transformations that leave the geometry of the torus unchanged. Our construction solves the long standing problem of engineering torus wave functions for multi-component many-body states. Since the resulting expressions are rather complicated, we have carefully compared the simplest example, that of ν=2/5, with numerically found wave functions. We have found an extremely good overlap for arbitrary values of the modular parameter τ, that describes the geometry of the torus. Having explicit torus wave functions allows us to use the methods developed by Read and Read \\& Rezayi to numerically compute the quantum Hall viscosity. Hall viscosity is conjectured to be a topologically protected macroscopic transport coefficient characterizing the quantum Hall state. It is related to the shift of the same QH-fluid when it is put on a sphere. The good agreement with the theoretical prediction for the 2/5 state strongly suggests that our wave functions encodes all relevant topologically information. We also consider the Hall viscosity in the limit of a very thin torus. There we find that the viscosity changes as we approach the thin torus limit. Because of this we study the Laughlin state in that limit and see how the change in viscosity arises from a change in the Hamiltonian hopping elements. Finally we conclude that there are both qualitative and quantitative difference between the thin and the square torus. Thus, one has to be careful when interpreting results in the thin torus limit.
The fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), discovered in 1982 in a two-dimensional electron system, has generated a wealth of successful theory and new concepts in condensed matter physics, but is still not fully understood. The possibility of having nonabelian quasiparticle statistics has recently attracted attention on purely theoretical grounds but also because of its potential applications in topologically protected quantum computing. This thesis focuses on the quasiparticles using three different approaches. The first is an effective Chern-Simons theory description, where the noncommutativity imposed on the classical space variables captures the incompressibility. We propose a construction of the quasielectron and illustrate how many-body quantum effects are emulated by a classical noncommutative theory. The second approach involves a study of quantum Hall states on a torus where one of the periods is taken to be almost zero. Characteristic quantum Hall properties survive in this limit in which they become very simple to understand. We illustrate this by giving a simple counting argument for degeneracy 2n-1, pertinent to nonabelian statistics, in the presence of 2n quasiholes in the Moore-Read state and generalise this result to 2n-k quasiholes and k quasielectrons. In the third approach, we study the topological nature of the degeneracy 2n-1 by using a recently proposed analogy between the Moore-Read state and the two-dimensional spin-polarized p-wave BCS state. We study a version of this problem where one can use techniques developed in the context of high-Tc superconductors to turn the vortex background into an effective gauge field in a Dirac equation. Topological arguments in the form of index theory gives the degeneracy 2n-1 for 2n vortices.