The effect of Landau level (LL) mixing on the $\ensuremath{\nu}=5∕2$ fractional quantum Hall state is studied directly in a minimal, yet still numerically tractable, approximation. Specifically, the inter-LL excitations with one unit of cyclotron energy are included in the exact diagonalization of a small yet representative number of electrons on a sphere. Significant reduction of the excitation gap found already in this simple model indicates that LL mixing must play an important role in more realistic systems, with a full spectrum of allowed inter-LL excitations. This suggests a possible route to the explanation of the troubling discrepancy between earlier calculations and experiments. On the other hand, even within our limited approach the LL mixing is found to considerably reduce overlaps with the Moore-Read wave function, raising the question of the actual realization of non-Abelian quasiparticles (QPs) at $\ensuremath{\nu}=5∕2$. In view of the discussed limitations of exact numerics, conclusive resolution of this question will probably require an experiment directly probing the QP statistics.
The effect of Landau level (LL) mixing on the \ensuremathν=5∕2 fractional quantum Hall state is studied directly in a minimal, yet still numerically tractable, approximation. Specifically, the inter-LL excitations with one unit of cyclotron energy are included in the exact diagonalization of a small yet representative number of electrons on a sphere. Significant reduction of the excitation gap found already in this simple model indicates that LL mixing must play an important role in more realistic systems, with a full spectrum of allowed inter-LL excitations. This suggests a possible route to the explanation of the troubling discrepancy between earlier calculations and experiments. On the other hand, even within our limited approach the LL mixing is found to considerably reduce overlaps with the Moore-Read wave function, raising the question of the actual realization of non-Abelian quasiparticles (QPs) at \ensuremathν=5∕2. In view of the discussed limitations of exact numerics, conclusive resolution of this question will probably require an experiment directly probing the QP statistics.
Phase Diagram of the ν=5/2 Fractional Quantum Hall Effect: Effects of Landau Level Mixing and Non-Zero Width
Interesting non-Abelian states, e.g., the Moore-Read Pfaffian and the anti-Pfaffian, offer candidate descriptions of the ν=5/2 fractional quantum Hall state. But the significant controversy surrounding the nature of the ν=5/2 state has been hampered by the fact that the competition between these and other states is affected by small parameter changes. To study the phase diagram of the ν=5/2 state we numerically diagonalize a comprehensive effective Hamiltonian describing the fractional quantum Hall effect of electrons under realistic conditions in GaAs semiconductors. The effective Hamiltonian takes Landau level mixing into account to lowest-order perturbatively in κ, the ratio of the Coulomb energy scale to the cyclotron gap. We also incorporate non-zero width w of the quantum well and sub-band mixing. We find the ground state in both the torus and spherical geometries as a function of κ and w. To sort out the non-trivial competition between candidate ground states we analyze the following 4 criteria: its overlap with trial wave functions; the magnitude of energy gaps; the sign of the expectation value of an order parameter for particle-hole symmetry breaking; and the entanglement spectrum. We conclude that the ground state is in the universality class of the Moore-Read Pfaffian state, rather than the anti-Pfaffian, for κ<κc(w), where κc(w) is a w-dependent critical value 0.6≲κc(w)≲1. We observe that both Landau level mixing and non-zero width suppress the excitation gap, but Landau level mixing has a larger effect in this regard. Our findings have important implications for the identification of non-Abelian fractional quantum Hall states.
We compute energy gaps for spin-polarized fractional quantum Hall states in the lowest Landau level (LL) at filling fractions $\ensuremath{\nu}=\frac{1}{3},$ 52,73, and 94 using exact diagonalization of systems with up to 16 particles and extrapolation to the infinite system-size limit. The gaps calculated for a pure Coulomb interaction and ignoring finite width effects, disorder and LL mixing agree well with the predictions of composite fermion theory provided the logarithmic corrections to the effective mass are included. This is in contrast with previous estimates, which, as we show, overestimated the gaps at $\ensuremath{\nu}=2/5$ and 3/7 by around 15%. We also study the reduction of the gaps as a result of the nonzero width of the two-dimensional (2D) layer. We show that these effects are accurately accounted for using either Gaussian or ``$z\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ Gaussian'' (zG) trial wave functions, which we show are significantly better variational wave functions than the Fang-Howard wave function. The Gaussian and zG wave functions give Haldane pseudopotential parameters which agree with those of self-consistent local density approximation calculations to better than $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2%.$ For quantum well parameters typical of heterostructure samples, we find gap reductions of around 20%. The experimental gaps, after accounting heuristically for disorder, are still around 40% smaller than the computed gaps. However, for the case of tetracene layers in metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices we find that the measured activation gaps are close to those we compute. We discuss possible reasons why the difference between computed and measured activation gaps is larger in GaAs heterostructures than MIS devices. Finally, we present calculations using systems with up to 18 electrons of the gap at $\ensuremath{\nu}=\frac{5}{2}$ including width corrections.
The [special characters omitted] fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) is a unique and interesting experimental and theoretical state. A great deal of experimental, theoretical and numerical work suggests that this state may support quasihole excitations with non-Abelian statistics, where the order of particle exchange influences the final state of the system. Thus, the [special characters omitted] FQHE offers a system in which the properties of the particles may be explored experimentally and theoretically. Additionally, by controlling the exchange of such particles, it is possible to create a topologically-protected quantum computer. In order to make this possible, however, we must first understand the nature of the ground state. The two leading candidates, the Moore-Read Pfaffian and the anti-Pfaffian, both support non-Abelian excitations, but there has not been a clear answer for which state is realized in experiment. In the present work, we present results of exact diagaonlization calculations which strive to answer this question using a disk geometry. What we find is that the ground state of the system is dependent upon device specific quantities and thus we may be able to engineer samples which will have specific ground state properties.
The $\ensuremath{\nu}=5/2$ fractional quantum Hall effect is a system of intense experimental and theoretical interest as its ground state may host non-Abelian excitations, but the exact nature of the ground state is still undetermined. We present the results of an exact diagonalization study of an electron system in the disk configuration, including the effects of Landau level (LL) mixing and the finite thickness of the quantum well confining the electrons. The degeneracy between the two leading candidates for the ground state, the Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian, is broken by interactions with a neutralizing background, in addition to the inclusion of two- and three-body interactions via LL mixing. As a result of the neutralizing background in the disk configuration, there is a phase transition from the anti-Pfaffian to the Pfaffian as LL mixing is turned on, in stark contrast to what is observed in spherical geometry. This behavior is in agreement with existing experiments, showing the appearance of the Pfaffian state at strong LL mixing before the system enters a compressible phase. The inclusion of LL mixing leads to an increased charge e/4 quasihole size. LL mixing interactions are also shown to overcome the effects of edge reconstruction. Due to finite thickness effects, these properties are enhanced dramatically. We also find that only the Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian states continue to possess energy gaps at finite width, while gaps for compressible stripe states close, which is in agreement with available experimental data.
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.
We generalize the fractional quantum Hall hierarchy picture to apply to arbitrary, possibly non-Abelian, fractional quantum Hall states. Applying this to the $\ensuremath{\nu}=5/2$ Moore-Read state, we construct explicit trial wave functions to describe the fractional quantum Hall effect in the second Landau level. The resulting hierarchy of states, which reproduces the filling fractions of all observed Hall conductance plateaus in the second Landau level, is characterized by electron pairing in the ground state and an excitation spectrum that includes non-Abelian anyons of the Ising type. We propose this as a unifying picture in which p-wave pairing characterizes the fractional quantum Hall effect in the second Landau level.