Neutral modes' edge state dynamics through quantum point contacts

Abstract

The dynamics of neutral modes for fractional quantum Hall states is investigated for a quantum point contact geometry in the weak-backscattering regime. The effective field theory introduced by Fradkin-Lopez for edge states in the Jain sequence is generalized to the case of propagating neutral modes. The dominant tunnelling processes are identified also in the presence of non-universal phenomena induced by interactions. The crossover regime in the backscattering current between tunnelling of single-quasiparticles and of agglomerates of p-quasiparticles is analysed. We demonstrate that higher-order cumulants of the backscattering current fluctuations are a unique resource to study quantitatively the competition between different carrier charges. We find that propagating neutral modes are a necessary ingredient in order to explain this crossover phenomenon. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.