Bimetric Theory of Fractional Quantum Hall States

Abstract

We present a bimetric low-energy effective theory of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states that describes the topological properties and a gapped collective excitation, known as the Girvin-Macdonald-Platzman (GMP) mode. The theory consists of a topological Chern-Simons action, coupled to a symmetric rank-2 tensor, and an action à la bimetric gravity, describing the gapped dynamics of a spin-2 mode. The theory is formulated in curved ambient space and is spatially covariant, which allows us to restrict the form of the effective action and the values of phenomenological coefficients. Using bimetric theory, we calculate the projected static structure factor up to the k^{6} order in the momentum expansion. To provide further support for the theory, we derive the long-wave limit of the GMP algebra, the dispersion relation of the GMP mode, and the Hall viscosity of FQH states. The particle-hole (PH) transformation of the theory takes a very simple form, making the duality between FQH states and their PH conjugates manifest. We also comment on the possible applications to fractional Chern insulators, where closely related structures arise. It is shown that the familiar FQH observables acquire a curious geometric interpretation within the bimetric formalism.