Quantum Hall fluctuations and evidence for charging in the quantum Hall effect

TL;DR

This paper reports mesoscopic conductance fluctuations in the quantum Hall regime that reveal charging effects and interactions, providing new evidence for the role of electron interactions in dc transport within the integer quantum Hall effect.

Contribution

It presents the first clear evidence of charging effects and electron interactions manifesting in dc transport measurements in the quantum Hall regime.

Findings

Conductance fluctuations form patterns aligned with integer filling factors.

Fluctuations at quantum Hall transitions relate to low-density zero-field behavior.

Evidence suggests charging effects are fundamental in quantum Hall transport.

Abstract

We find that mesoscopic conductance fluctuations in the quantum Hall regime in silicon MOSFETs display simple and striking patterns. The fluctuations fall into distinct groups which move along lines parallel to loci of integer filling factor in the gate voltage-magnetic field plane. Also, a relationship appears between the fluctuations on quantum Hall transitions and those found at low densities in zero magnetic field. These phenomena are most naturally attributed to charging effects. We argue that they are the first unambiguous manifestation of interactions in dc transport in the integer quantum Hall effect.