Critical exponents of the random-field O(N) model

The critical behavior of the random-field Ising model has been a puzzle for a long time. Different theoretical methods predict that the critical exponents of the random-field ferromagnet in D dimensions are the same as in the pure (D-2)-dimensional ferromagnet with the same number of the magnetization components. This result contradicts the experiments and simulations. We calculate the critical exponents of the random-field O(N) model with the (4+\epsilon)-expansion and obtain values different from the critical exponents of the pure ferromagnet in 2+\epsilon dimensions. In contrast to the previous approaches we take into account an infinite set of relevant operators emerging in the problem. We demonstrate how these previously missed relevant operators lead to the breakdown of the (6-\epsilon)-expansion for the random-field Ising model.Comment: 5 page

Comment on S. H. Simon, Interpretation of thermal conductance of the ν=5/2\nu=5/2 edge, arXiv:1801.09687

We address the interpretation proposed in [S. H. Simon, arXiv:1801.09687] of the thermal conductance data from [M. Banerjee et al., arXiv:1710.00492]. We show that the interpretation is inconsistent with experimental data and the sample structure. In particular, the paper misses the momentum mismatch between contra-propagating modes. Contrary to the claim of the paper, low energy tunneling involves a large momentum change. We consider only the 'small Majorana velocity' mechanism [S. H. Simon, arXiv:1801.09687]. Other mechanisms, interpretations of the experiment, and their difficulties are beyond the scope of this Comment.Comment: accepted versio

Fluctuation theorems without time-reversal symmetry

Fluctuation theorems establish deep relations between observables away from thermal equilibrium. Until recently, the research on fluctuation theorems was focused on time-reversal-invariant systems. In this review we address some newly discovered fluctuation relations that hold without time-reversal symmetry, in particular, in the presence of an external magnetic field. One family of relations connects non-linear transport coefficients in the opposite magnetic fields. Another family relates currents and noises at a fixed direction of the magnetic field in chiral systems, such as the edges of some quantum Hall liquids. We review the recent experimental and theoretical research, including the controversy on the microreversibility without time-reversal symmetry, consider the applications of fluctuation theorems to the physics of topological states of matter, and discuss open problems.Comment: Review; references adde

Experimental constraints and a possible quantum Hall state at ν=5/2\nu =5/2

Several topological orders have been proposed to explain the quantum Hall plateau at $\nu=5/2$. The observation of an upstream neutral mode on the sample edge [Bid et al., Nature (London) 466, 585 (2010)] supports the non-Abelian anti-Pfaffian state. On the other hand, the tunneling experiments [Radu et al., Science 320, 899 (2008); Lin et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 165321 (2012); Baer et al., arXiv:1405.0428] favor the Halperin 331 state which exhibits no upstream modes. We find a topological order, compatible with the results of both types of experiments. That order allows both finite and zero spin polarizations. It is Abelian but its signatures in Aharonov-Bohm interferometry can be similar to those of the Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian states.Comment: 5+1 page

Edge mode velocities in the quantum Hall effect from a dc measurement

Because of the bulk gap, low energy physics in the quantum Hall effect is confined to the edges of the 2D electron liquid. The velocities of edge modes are key parameters of edge physics. They were determined in several quantum Hall systems from time-resolved measurements and high-frequency ac transport. We propose a way to extract edge velocities from dc transport in a point contact geometry defined by narrow gates. The width of the gates assumes two different sizes at small and large distances from the point contact. The Coulomb interaction across the gates depends on the gate width and affects the conductance of the contact. The conductance exhibits two different temperature dependencies at high and low temperatures. The transition between the two regimes is determined by the edge velocity. An interesting feature of the low-temperature I-V curve is current oscillations as a function of the voltage. The oscillations emerge due to charge reflection from the interface of the regions defined by the narrow and wide sections of the gates.Comment: 17 pages, 6 FIgure

Identification of 331 quantum Hall states with Mach-Zehnder interferometry

It has been shown recently that non-Abelian states and the spin-polarized and unpolarized versions of the Abelian 331 state may have identical signatures in Fabry-P\'{e}rot interferometry in the quantum Hall effect at filling factor 5/2. We calculate the Fano factor for the shot noise in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in the 331 states and demonstrate that it differs from the Fano factor in the proposed non-Abelian states. The Fano factor depends periodically on the magnetic flux through the interferometer. Its maximal value is $2\times 1.4e$ for the 331 states with a symmetry between two flavors of quasiparticles. In the absence of such symmetry the Fano factor can reach $2\times 2.3e$. On the other hand, for the Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian states the maximal Fano factor is $2\times 3.2e$. The period of the flux dependence of the Fano factor is one flux quantum. If only quasiparticles of one flavor can tunnel through the interferometer then the period drops to one half of the flux quantum. We also discuss transport signatures of a general Halperin state with the filling factor $2+k/(k+2)$.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; Appendix on the states with the filling factor 2+k/(k+2) adde

Influence of device geometry on tunneling in \nu=5/2 quantum Hall liquid

Two recent experiments [I. P. Radu et al., Science 320, 899 (2008) and X. Lin et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 165321 (2012)] measured the temperature and voltage dependence of the quasiparticle tunneling through a quantum point contact in the \nu= 5/2 quantum Hall liquid. The results led to conflicting conclusions about the nature of the quantum Hall state. In this paper, we show that the conflict can be resolved by recognizing different geometries of the devices in the experiments. We argue that in some of those geometries there is significant unscreened electrostatic interaction between the segments of the quantum Hall edge on the opposite sides of the point contact. Coulomb interaction affects the tunneling current. We compare experimental results with theoretical predictions for the Pfaffian, SU(2)_2, 331 and K=8 states and their particle-hole conjugates. After Coulomb corrections are taken into account, measurements in all geometries agree with the spin-polarized and spin-unpolarized Halperin 331 states.Comment: Final version as accepted by PR

Fluctuation relations for spin currents

The fluctuation theorem establishes general relations between transport coefficients and fluctuations in nonequilibrium systems. Recently there was much interest in quantum fluctuation relations for electric currents. Since charge carriers also carry spin, it is important to extend the fluctuation theorem to spin currents. We use the principle of microscopic reversibility to derive such theorem. As a consequence, we obtain a family of relations between transport coefficients and fluctuations of spin currents. We apply the relations to the spin Seebeck effect and rectification of spin currents. Our relations do not depend on a microscopic model and hence can be used to test the validity of theoretical approximations in spin-transport problems.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures. Final version as accepted by PR

Particle-hole symmetry without particle-hole symmetry in the quantum Hall effect at {\nu} = 5/2

Numerical results suggest that the quantum Hall effect at {\nu} = 5/2 is described by the Pfaffian or anti-Pfaffian state in the absence of disorder and Landau level mixing. Those states are incompatible with the observed transport properties of GaAs heterostructures, where disorder and Landau level mixing are strong. We show that the recent proposal of a PH-Pfaffian topological order by Son is consistent with all experiments. The absence of the particle-hole symmetry at {\nu} = 5/2 is not an obstacle to the existence of the PH-Pfaffian order since the order is robust to symmetry breaking.Comment: 5 Pages, 3 Figure

Exact zero modes and decoherence in systems of interacting Majorana fermions

Majorana fermions often coexist with other low-energy fermionic degrees of freedom. In such situation, topological quantum computation requires the use of fermionic zero modes of a many-body system. We classify all such modes for interacting fermions and show how to select the mode that maximizes the decoherence time. We find that in a typical interacting system the maximal decoherence time is within one order of magnitude from the decoherence time of a qbit based on the local part of the fermion parity operator.Comment: 14 page