CPM Seminar

Tunneling into fractional quantum Hall edge states

Smitha Vishveshwara

Dept. of Physics
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The properties of a two-dimensional electron gas in the quantum Hall regime can be probed through tunneling measurements performed at its edges. Here, the signatures of two such properties are discussed. The first is the possibility of having a transition in the spin structure of quantum Hall states at certain fillings. It is found that tunneling between a quantum Hall edge state and a superconducting lead can act as a means of detecting such a transition. The second is the bizarre property of fractional statistics attributed to quantum Hall quasiparticles. It is shown that tunneling between three edge states can be used to observe signatures of fractional statistics.