Field theory formulation of the Quantum Hall Effect

TL;DR

This paper presents a unified field theory approach to understanding the quantum Hall effect, encompassing both fractional and integral phenomena through edge state formulations.

Contribution

It introduces a field theory framework that naturally describes both fractional and integral quantum Hall effects via edge states.

Findings

Unified theoretical framework for quantum Hall effects

Edge state formulation captures fractional and integral cases

Provides insights into topological aspects of quantum Hall systems

Abstract

We consider the quantum Hall effect in terms of an effective field theory formulation of the edge states, providing a natural common framework for the fractional and integral effects.