Quantum transport through pairs of edge states of opposite chirality at electric and magnetic boundaries

TL;DR

This paper explores how spatially varying magnetic and electric confinements influence quantum Hall edge states, revealing their impact on electronic structure, conductivity, and backscattering in systems with pairs of oppositely chiral edge states.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of edge state behavior under different confinement geometries, highlighting the effects of chirality on transport properties and backscattering.

Findings

Conductivity peaks shift with magnetic field depending on edge state chirality.

Chirality affects backscattering amplitude in collisional processes.

Edge state overlap influences local density of states and conductivity.

Abstract

We theoretically investigate electrical transport in a quantum Hall system hosting bulk and edge current carrying states. Spatially varying magnetic and electric confinement creates pairs of current carrying lines that drift in the same or opposite directions depending on whether confinement is applied by a magnetic split gate or a magnetic strip gate. We study the electronic structure through calculations of the local density of states and conductivity of the channel as a function of the chirality and wave-function overlap of these states. We demonstrate a shift of the conductivity peaks to high or low magnetic field depending on chirality of pairs of edge states and the effect of chirality on backscattering amplitude associated with collisional processes.