Tunneling into a Fractional Quantum Hall System and the Infrared Catastrophe

TL;DR

This paper explains the pseudogap observed in the tunneling density of states of a 2D electron gas in a magnetic field as an infrared catastrophe, using a formalism applicable across various filling factors without Chern-Simons theory.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to understanding the pseudogap in quantum Hall systems through an infrared catastrophe framework that does not rely on traditional Chern-Simons or composite fermion theories.

Findings

Pseudogap arises from an infrared catastrophe in the electron response.

Formalism applies to any filling factor without Chern-Simons theory.

Provides a new perspective on tunneling phenomena in quantum Hall systems.

Abstract

We calculate the tunneling density of states of a two-dimensional interacting electron gas in a quantizing magnetic field. We show that the observed pseudogap in the density of states can be understood as the result of an infrared catastrophe in a noninteracting electron model. This catastrophe stems from the response of an electronic system to the potential produced by the abruptly added charge during a tunneling event. Our formalism can be applied at any filling factor without the use of Chern-Simons or composite fermion theory.