Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 6, 2025
05:39
Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
Published on: August 2, 2019
9.8K
Absent thermal equilibration on fractional quantum Hall edges over macroscopic scale
Ron Aharon Melcer1, Bivas Dutta2, Christian Spånslätt3,4,5
1Braun Center for Submicron Research, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 761001, Israel. ron.melcer@weizmann.ac.il.
Nature Communications
|January 20, 2022
Summary
Heat transport in quantum Hall states is surprisingly inefficient due to counter-propagating edge modes. This study reveals emergent heat conductance quantization, crucial for understanding topological order in exotic states.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Materials
- Topological Insulators
Background:
- Two-dimensional topological insulators exhibit insulating bulk and conducting edges.
- Fractional quantum Hall states can feature counter-propagating edge modes, complicating transport.
- Understanding thermal properties is key to characterizing these exotic states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the thermal properties of quantum Hall states with counter-propagating edge modes.
- To explore heat equilibration dynamics and conductance in these systems.
- To connect thermal transport to topological order, particularly for the 5/2 state.
Main Methods:
- Combined local noise thermometry and thermal conductance measurements.
- Studied thermal properties of states with counter-propagating edge modes.
- Analyzed heat and charge equilibration dynamics.
Main Results:
- Observed very fast charge equilibration but extremely inefficient heat equilibration between edge modes.
- Demonstrated nearly ballistic heat transport over macroscopic distances.
- Discovered emergent quantization of heat conductance linked to edge mode interactions.
Conclusions:
- Heat transport is inefficient in quantum Hall states with counter-propagating edge modes.
- Emergent heat conductance quantization provides insights into topological order.
- This work advances the understanding of exotic topological states and their thermal properties.
Related Concept Videos
01:30The Hall Effect
2.8K
Edwin H. Hall, in the year 1879, devised an experiment that could be used to identify the polarity of the predominant charge carriers in a conducting material. From a historical perspective, this experiment was the first to demonstrate that the charge carriers in most metals are negative.
2.8K
01:14Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
1.3K
Near absolute zero temperatures, in the presence of a magnetic field, the majority of nuclei prefer the lower energy spin-up state to the higher energy spin-down state. As temperatures increase, the energy from thermal collisions distributes the spins more equally between the two states. The Boltzmann distribution equation gives the ratio of the number of spins predicted in the spin −½ (N−) and spin +½ (N+) states.
1.3K
02:32The de Broglie Wavelength
29.8K
In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...
29.8K
03:06The Pauli Exclusion Principle
53.3K
The arrangement of electrons in the orbitals of an atom is called its electron configuration. We describe an electron configuration with a symbol that contains three pieces of information:
53.3K
01:23Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
757
In the absence of an external magnetic field, nuclear spin states are degenerate and randomly oriented. When a magnetic field is applied, the spins begin to precess and orient themselves along (lower energy) or against (higher energy) the direction of the field. At equilibrium, a slight excess population of spins exists in the lower energy state. Because the direction of the magnetic field is fixed as the z-axis, the precessing magnetic moments are randomly oriented around the z-axis.
757
01:15¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Variable-Temperature NMR
1.2K
The axial and equatorial protons in cyclohexane can be distinguished by performing a variable-temperature NMR experiment. In this process, except for one proton, the remaining eleven protons are replaced by deuterium. The deuterium substitution avoids the possible peak splitting caused by the spin-spin coupling between the adjacent protons. The remaining proton flips between the axial and equatorial positions.
1.2K