Signatures of neutral quantum Hall modes in transport through low-density constrictions

Constrictions in fractional quantum Hall (FQH) systems not only facilitate backscattering between counter-propagating edge modes, but also may reduce the constriction filling fraction $\nu_c$ with respect to the bulk filling fraction $\nu_b$. If both $\nu_b$ and $\nu_c$ correspond to incompressible FQH states, at least part of the constriction region is surrounded by composite edges, whose low energy dynamics is characterized by a charge mode and one or several neutral modes. In the incoherent regime, decay of neutral modes describes the equilibration of composite FQH edges, while in the limit of coherent transport, the presence of neutral modes gives rise to universal conductance fluctuations. In addition, neutral modes renormalize the strength of scattering across the constriction, and thus can determine the relative strength of forward and backwards scattering.Comment: corrected description of the results of Ref. [10], Ref. [17] adde

Driven nonlinear dynamics of two coupled exchange-only qubits

Inspired by creation of a fast exchange-only qubit (Medford et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 111, 050501 (2013)), we develop a theory describing the nonlinear dynamics of two such qubits that are capacitively coupled, when one of them is driven resonantly at a frequency equal to its level splitting. We include conditions of strong driving, where the Rabi frequency is a significant fraction of the level splitting, and we consider situations where the splitting for the second qubit may be the same or different than the first. We demonstrate that coupling between qubits can be detected by reading the response of the second qubit, even when the coupling between them is only of about $1\%$ of their level splittings, and calculate entanglement between qubits. Patterns of nonlinear dynamics of coupled qubits and their entanglement are strongly dependent on the geometry of the system, and the specific mechanism of inter-qubit coupling deeply influences dynamics of both qubits. In particular, we describe the development of irregular dynamics in a two-qubit system, explore approaches for inhibiting it, and demonstrate existence of an optimal range of coupling strength maintaining stability during the operational time.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures; One additional figure with changes to the text about the results. Additional references include

Are Microwave Induced Zero Resistance States Necessarily Static?

We study the effect of inhomogeneities in Hall conductivity on the nature of the Zero Resistance States seen in the microwave irradiated two-dimensional electron systems in weak perpendicular magnetic fields, and we show that time-dependent domain patterns may emerge in some situations. For an annular Corbino geometry, with an equilibrium charge density that varies linearly with radius, we find a time-periodic non-equilibrium solution, which might be detected by a charge sensor, such as an SET. For a model on a torus, in addition to static domain patterns seen at high and low values of the equilibrium charge inhomogeneity, we find that, in the intermediate regime, a variety of nonstationary states can also exist. We catalog the possibilities we have seen in our simulations. Within a particular phenomenological model, we show that linearizing the nonlinear charge continuity equation about a particularly simple domain wall configuration and analyzing the eigenmodes allows us to estimate the periods of the solutions to the full nonlinear equation.Comment: Submitted to PR

Spin Order in Paired Quantum Hall States

We consider quantum Hall states at even-denominator filling fractions, especially $\nu=5/2$, in the limit of small Zeeman energy. Assuming that a paired quantum Hall state forms, we study spin ordering and its interplay with pairing. We give numerical evidence that at $\nu = 5/2$ an incompressible ground state will exhibit spontaneous ferromagnetism. The Ginzburg-Landau theory for the spin degrees of freedom of paired Hall states is a perturbed CP$^2$ model. We compute the coefficients in the Ginzburg-Landau theory by a BCS-Stoner mean field theory for coexisting order parameters, and show that even if repulsion is smaller than that required for a Stoner instability, ferromagnetic fluctuations can induce a partially or fully polarized superconducting state

Conductance beyond the Landauer limit and charge pumping in quantum wires

Periodically driven systems, which can be described by Floquet theory, have been proposed to show characteristic behavior that is distinct from static Hamiltonians. Floquet theory proposes to describe such periodically driven systems in terms of states that are indexed by a photon number in addition to the usual Hilbert space of the system. We propose a way to measure directly this additional Floquet degree of freedom by the measurement of the DC conductance of a single channel quantum point contact. Specifically, we show that a single channel wire augmented with a grating structure when irradiated with microwave radiation can show a DC conductance above the limit of one conductance quantum set by the Landauer formula. Another interesting feature of the proposed system is that being non-adiabatic in character, it can be used to pump a strong gate-voltage dependent photo-current even with linearly polarized radiation.Comment: 9 pages; 3 figures: Final published version; includes minor revisions from the last versio

Hartree-Fock calculations of a finite inhomogeneous quantum wire

We use the Hartree-Fock method to study an interacting one-dimensional electron system on a finite wire, partially depleted at the center by a smooth potential barrier. A uniform one-Tesla Zeeman field is applied throughout the system. We find that with the increase in the potential barrier, the low density electrons under it go from a non-magnetic state to an antiferromagnetic state, and then to a state with a well-localized spin-aligned region isolated by two antiferromagnetic regions from the high density leads. At this final stage, in response to a continuously increasing barrier potential, the system undergoes a series of abrupt density changes, corresponding to the successive expulsion of a single electron from the spin-aligned region under the barrier. Motivated by the recent momentum-resolved tunneling experiments in a parallel wire geometry, we also compute the momentum resolved tunneling matrix elements. Our calculations suggest that the eigenstates being expelled are spatially localized, consistent with the experimental observations. However, additional mechanisms are needed to account for the experimentally observed large spectral weight at near $k=0$ in the tunneling matrix elements.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure