Crystallization of fractional charges in a strongly interacting quasi-helical quantum dot

TL;DR

This paper investigates how fractional charges form a crystalline pattern in a strongly interacting, spin-orbit coupled quantum dot, revealing density oscillations indicative of fractional quasi-particle crystallization at specific filling factors.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of fractional quasi-particle crystallization in a quantum dot at fractional filling factors, a novel insight into strongly correlated one-dimensional systems.

Findings

Density oscillations with $N_0/\nu$ peaks at fractional fillings

Evidence of fractional quasi-particle crystallization

Potential for experimental verification via transport measurements

Abstract

The ground-state electron density of a one-dimensional spin-orbit coupled quantum dot with a Zeeman term and strong electron interaction is studied at the fractional helical liquid points. We show that at fractional filling factors $\nu=(2n+1)^{-1}$ (with $n$ a non-negative integer) the density oscillates with $N_{0}/\nu$ peak. For $n\geq 1$ a number of peaks larger than the number of electrons $N_{0}$ suggests that a crystal of fractional quasi-particles with charge $\nu e$ (with $e$ the electron charge) occurs. The reported effect is amenable of verification via transport measurements in charged AFM-coupled dot.