Quantum Boltzmann equation of composite fermions interacting with a gauge field

Abstract

We derive the quantum Boltzmann equation (QBE) of composite fermions at/near the =1/2 state using the nonequilibrium Greens-function technique. The lowest-order perturbative correction to the self-energy due to the strong gauge-field fluctuations suggests that there is no well-defined Landau quasiparticle. Therefore, we cannot assume the existence of the Landau quasiparticles a priori in the derivation of the QBE. Using an alternative formulation, we derive the QBE for the generalized Fermi-surface displacement which corresponds to the local variation of the chemical potential in momentum space. From this QBE, one can understand in a unified fashion the Fermi-liquid behaviors of the density-density and the current-current correlation functions at =1/2 (in the long-wavelength and the low-frequency limits) and the singular behavior of the energy gap obtained from the finite-temperature activation behavior of the compressibility near =1/2. Implications of these results for recent experiments are also discussed. © 1995 The American Physical Society.