Thermodynamics of free and bound magnons in graphene

Symmetry-broken electronic phases support neutral collective excitations. For example, monolayer graphene in the quantum Hall regime hosts a nearly ideal ferromagnetic phase at specific filling factors that spontaneously breaks the spin-rotation symmetry1–3. This ferromagnet has been shown to support spin-wave excitations known as magnons that can be electrically generated and detected4,5. Although long-distance magnon propagation has been demonstrated via transport measurements, important thermodynamic properties of such magnon populations—including the magnon chemical potential and density—have not been measured. Here we present local measurements of electron compressibility under the influence of magnons, which reveal a reduction in the gap associated with the ν = 1 quantum Hall state by up to 20%. Combining these measurements with the estimates of temperature, our analysis reveals that the injected magnons bind to electrons and holes to form skyrmions, and it enables the extraction of free magnon density, magnon chemical potential and average skyrmion spin. Our methods provide a means of probing the thermodynamic properties of charge-neutral excitations that are applicable to other symmetry-broken electronic phases.

Transport in helical Luttinger liquids in the fractional quantum Hall regime

Domain walls in fractional quantum Hall ferromagnets are gapless helical one-dimensional channels formed at the boundaries of topologically distinct quantum Hall (QH) liquids. Naïvely, these helical domain walls (hDWs) constitute two counter-propagating chiral states with opposite spins. Coupled to an s-wave superconductor, helical channels are expected to lead to topological superconductivity with high order non-Abelian excitations1–3. Here we investigate transport properties of hDWs in the ν = 2/3 fractional QH regime. Experimentally we found that current carried by hDWs is substantially smaller than the prediction of the naïve model. Luttinger liquid theory of the system reveals redistribution of currents between quasiparticle charge, spin and neutral modes, and predicts the reduction of the hDW current. Inclusion of spin-non-conserving tunneling processes reconciles theory with experiment. The theory confirms emergence of spin modes required for the formation of fractional topological superconductivity.

Upstream modes and antidots poison graphene quantum Hall effect

The quantum Hall effect is the seminal example of topological protection, as charge carriers are transmitted through one-dimensional edge channels where backscattering is prohibited. Graphene has made its marks as an exceptional platform to reveal new facets of this remarkable property. However, in conventional Hall bar geometries, topological protection of graphene edge channels is found regrettably less robust than in high mobility semi-conductors. Here, we explore graphene quantum Hall regime at the local scale, using a scanning gate microscope. We reveal the detrimental influence of antidots along the graphene edges, mediating backscattering towards upstream edge channels, hence triggering topological breakdown. Combined with simulations, our experimental results provide further insights into graphene quantum Hall channels vulnerability. In turn, this may ease future developments towards precise manipulation of topologically protected edge channels hosted in various types of two-dimensional crystals.