Theory of Incompressible States in a Narrow Channel

TL;DR

This paper explores the behavior of interacting electrons in a narrow quantum Hall channel, revealing abrupt changes in charge density profiles and identifying a new fractional quantum Hall state at half-filling.

Contribution

It introduces a phase diagram for narrow channels, including known odd-denominator states and a novel fractional quantum Hall state at half-filled Landau level.

Findings

Abrupt changes in charge-density profile width with Coulomb interaction strength

Identification of a new fractional quantum Hall state at half-filling

Similarity of collective mode to odd-denominator fractional quantum Hall states

Abstract

We report on the properties of a system of interacting electrons in a narrow channel in the quantum Hall effect regime. It is shown that an increase in the strength of the Coulomb interaction causes abrupt changes in the width of the charge-density profile of translationally invariant states. We derive a phase diagram which includes many of the stable odd-denominator states as well as a novel fractional quantum Hall state at lowest half-filled Landau level. The collective mode evaluated at the half-filled case is strikingly similar to that for an odd-denominator fractional quantum Hall state.