Paper detail

Charge Fractionalization on Quantum Hall Edges

We discuss the propagation and fractionalization of localized charges on the edges of quantum Hall bars of variable widths, where interactions between the edges give rise to Luttinger liquid behavior with a non-trivial interaction parameter g. We focus in particular on the separation of an initial charge pulse into a sharply defined front charge and a broader tail. The front pulse describes an adiabatically dressed electron which carries a non-integer charge, which is \sqrt{g} times the electron charge. We discuss how the presence of this fractional charge can, in principle, be detected through measurements of the noise in the current created by tunneling of electrons into the system. The results are illustrated by numerical simulations of a simplified model of the Hall bar.