12.

4 fractional Quantum Hall Effect 709

constructed to distribute N electrons over an area which is permeated

by a total flux 3Nf#1o. The precisely controlled correspondence between
electrons and flux quanta makes it a natural idea that the Laughlin
state can be excited also by the addition of a flux quantum. How to
create an extra flux quantum, say, at the origin? We have to make sure
that there is an area 2 d 2 which is “not used” by any of the electrons.
This is achieved by introducing the one-quasihole state

(12.106)

Indeed, the lowest power of any zj is 1 (in contrast to the case of Qlp
where it was 0), thus the innermost Landau state is left unoccupied.
Similarly, we may add a second and a third hole at the center of the
system. The three-quasihole state is

(12.107)

But this would be the (N+l)-electron Laughlin wave function, assuming

that the ( N + l ) t h electron is sitting at the origin! Consequently, it must
be true that a single quasihole amounts to the absence of one-third of
an electron. The quasi-hole charge is e:h = e/3. Though we did not
present the analogous argument for the quasielectron, we may infer that
e& = -e/3.
The existence of fractionally charged quasiparticles is just the in-
gredient which we needed to extend the gauge argument to the FQHE
(see (12.100)). Now we can draw up the scenario for the 1/3 plateau as
follows: Strictly at u = 1/3, the system is an incompressible quantum
liquid. Since the decay of a weak dc current would need the existence of
low-lying excitations, and there are none, the system can move past ob-
stacles (impurities, etc.) without dissipation, and it has the same Hall
conductivity as a free-electron system would have (e2/3h). Changing u
slightly, we add quasielectrons (quasiholes) which become localized in
the disorder potential. The quasiparticles make no contribution to the
bulk current. However, fractional charge may be transported along the
edge and, in the sense of (12.99), it gives rise to oYz= e2/3h.