(Mis-)handling gauge invariance in the theory of the quantum Hall effect III: The instanton vacuum and chiral edge physics

The concepts of an instanton vacuum and F-invariance are used to derive a complete effective theory of massless edge excitations in the quantum Hall effect. We establish, for the first time, the fundamental relation between the instanton vacuum approach and the theory of chiral edge bosons. Two longstanding problems of smooth disorder and Coulomb interactions are addressed. We introduce a two dimensional network of chiral edge states and tunneling centers (saddlepoints) as a model for the plateau transitions. We derive a mean field theory including the Coulomb interactions and explain the recent empirical fits to transport at low temperatures. Secondly, we address the problem of electron tunneling into the quantum Hall edge. We express the problem in terms of an effective Luttinger liquid with conductance parameter (g) equal to the filling fraction (\nu) of the Landau band. Hence, even in the integral regime our results for tunneling are completely non-Fermi liquid like, in sharp contrast to the predictions of single edge theories.Comment: 51 pages, 8 figures; section IIA3 completely revised, section IIB and appendix C corrected; submitted to Phys.Rev.

The fractional quantum Hall effect: Chern-Simons mapping, duality, Luttinger liquids and the instanton vacuum

We derive, from first principles, the complete Luttinger liquid theory of abelian quantum Hall edge states. This theory includes the effects of disorder and Coulomb interactions as well as the coupling to external electromagnetic fields. We introduce a theory of spatially separated (individually conserved) edge modes, find an enlarged dual symmetry and obtain a complete classification of quasiparticle operators and tunneling exponents. The chiral anomaly on the edge and Laughlin's gauge argument are used to obtain unambiguously the Hall conductance. In resolving the problem of counter flowing edge modes, we find that the long range Coulomb interactions play a fundamental role. In order to set up a theory for arbitrary filling fractions $\nu$ we use the idea of a two dimensional network of percolating edge modes. We derive an effective, single mode Luttinger liquid theory for tunneling processes into the quantum Hall edge which yields a continuous tunneling exponent $1/\nu$. The network approach is also used to re-derive the instanton vacuum or $Q$-theory for the plateau transitions.Comment: 36 pages, 7 figures (eps

The problem of Coulomb interactions in the theory of the quantum Hall effect

We summarize the main ingredients of a unifying theory for abelian quantum Hall states. This theory combines the Finkelstein approach to localization and interaction effects with the topological concept of an instanton vacuum as well as Chern-Simons gauge theory. We elaborate on the meaning of a new symmetry ($\cal F$ invariance) for systems with an infinitely ranged interaction potential. We address the renormalization of the theory and present the main results in terms of a scaling diagram of the conductances.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Proceedings of the International Conference "Mesoscopics and Strongly Correlated Electron Systems", July 2000, Chernogolovka, Russi

The Quantum Hall Effect: Unified Scaling Theory and Quasi-particles at the Edge

We address two fundamental issues in the physics of the quantum Hall effect: a unified description of scaling behavior of conductances in the integral and fractional regimes, and a quasi-particle formulation of the chiral Luttinger Liquids that describe the dynamics of edge excitations in the fractional regime.Comment: 11 pages, LateX, 2 figures (not included, available from the authors), to be published in Proceedings of the International Summer School on Strongly Correlated Electron Systems, Lajos Kossuth University, Debrecen, Hungary, Sept 199

Topological oscillations of the magnetoconductance in disordered GaAs layers

Oscillatory variations of the diagonal ($G_{xx}$) and Hall ($G_{xy}$) magnetoconductances are discussed in view of topological scaling effects giving rise to the quantum Hall effect. They occur in a field range without oscillations of the density of states due to Landau quantization, and are, therefore, totally different from the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. Such oscillations are experimentally observed in disordered GaAs layers in the extreme quantum limit of applied magnetic field with a good description by the unified scaling theory of the integer and fractional quantum Hall effect.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

The instanton vacuum of generalized CPN−1CP^{N-1} models

It has recently been pointed out that the existence of massless chiral edge excitations has important strong coupling consequences for the topological concept of an instanton vacuum. In the first part of this paper we elaborate on the effective action for ``edge excitations'' in the Grassmannian $U(m+n)/U(m) \times U(n)$ non-linear sigma model in the presence of the $\theta$ term. This effective action contains complete information on the low energy dynamics of the system and defines the renormalization of the theory in an unambiguous manner. In the second part of this paper we revisit the instanton methodology and embark on the non-perturbative aspects of the renormalization group including the anomalous dimension of mass terms. The non-perturbative corrections to both the $\beta$ and $\gamma$ functions are obtained while avoiding the technical difficulties associated with the idea of {\em constrained} instantons. In the final part of this paper we present the detailed consequences of our computations for the quantum critical behavior at $\theta = \pi$. In the range $0 \leq m,n \lesssim 1$ we find quantum critical behavior with exponents that vary continuously with varying values of $m$ and $n$. Our results display a smooth interpolation between the physically very different theories with $m=n=0$ (disordered electron gas, quantum Hall effect) and $m=n=1$ (O(3) non-linear sigma model, quantum spin chains) respectively, in which cases the critical indices are known from other sources. We conclude that instantons provide not only a {\em qualitative} assessment of the singularity structure of the theory as a whole, but also remarkably accurate {\em numerical} estimates of the quantum critical details (critical indices) at $\theta = \pi$ for varying values of $m$ and $n$.Comment: Elsart style, 87 pages, 15 figure

(Mis-)handling gauge invariance in the theory of the quantum Hall effect I: Unifying action and the \nu=1/2 state

We propose a unifying theory for both the integral and fractional quantum Hall regimes. This theory reconciles the Finkelstein approach to localization and interaction effects with the topological issues of an instanton vacuum and Chern-Simons gauge theory. We elaborate on the microscopic origins of the effective action and unravel a new symmetry in the problem with Coulomb interactions which we name F-invariance. This symmetry has a broad range of physical consequences which will be the main topic of future analyses. In the second half of this paper we compute the response of the theory to electromagnetic perturbations at a tree level approximation. This is applicable to the theory of ordinary metals as well as the composite fermion approach to the half-integer effect. Fluctuations in the Chern-Simons gauge fields are found to be well behaved only when the theory is F-invariant.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures; appendix B revised; submitted to Phys.Rev.

Comment on ``Topological Oscillations of the Magnetoconductance in Disordered GaAs Layers''

In a recent Letter, Murzin et. al. [Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 92, 016802 (2004)] investigated "instanton effects" in the magneto resistance data taken from samples with heavily Si-doped GaAs layers at low temperatures. This topological issue originally arose in the development of a microscopic theory of quantum Hall effect some 20 years ago. The investigations by Murzin et. al., however, do not convey the correct ideas on scaling that have emerged over the years in the general theory of quantum transport.Comment: comment on Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 92, 016802 (2004