Quantized charge fractionalization at quantum Hall Y junctions in the disorder dominated regime

Abstract

Fractionalization is a phenomenon where an elementary excitation partitions into several pieces. This picture explains non-trivial transport through a junction of one-dimensional edge channels defined by topologically distinct quantum Hall states, for example, a hole-conjugate state at Landau-level filling factor ν = 2/3. Here we employ a time-resolved scheme to identify an elementary fractionalization process; injection of charge q from a non-interaction region into an interacting and scattering region of one-dimensional channels results in the formation of a collective excitation with charge (1−r)q by reflecting fractionalized charge rq. The fractionalization factors, r = 0.34 ± 0.03 for ν = 2/3 and r = 0.49 ± 0.03 for ν = 2, are consistent with the quantized values of 1/3 and 1/2, respectively, which are expected in the disorder dominated regime. The scheme can be used for generating and transporting fractionalized charges with a well-defined time course along a well-defined path.