Local charge of the ν = 5/2 fractional quantum Hall state

Vivek Venkatachalam, Amir Yacoby (), Loren Pfeiffer and Ken West
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Vivek Venkatachalam: Harvard University, 11 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
Amir Yacoby: Harvard University, 11 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
Loren Pfeiffer: Princeton University
Ken West: Princeton University

Nature, 2011, vol. 469, issue 7329, 185-188

Abstract: Quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect Electrons confined to two dimensions and held under strong magnetic fields display exotic correlated behaviour — a phenomenon known as the fractional quantum Hall effect. When the ratio of electrons to magnetic flux quanta in the system is near 5/2, a phase emerges that is predicted to harbour quasiparticles with a unique, topologically protected quantum property. Called 'non-Abelian braiding statistics', this property holds great technological promise because, in principle, it enables decoherence-free quantum computation. However, there is no conclusive evidence yet that such quasiparticles exist. A defining feature of these non-Abelian quasiparticles is that their charge value is a quarter that of an electron. Venkatachalam et al. now measure 'puddles' of charge in a fractional quantum Hall device and find new evidence for the existence of quarter-charge particles, thereby boosting confidence in the prospects for topological quantum computation.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09680

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