Real-time and space visualization of excitations of the ν=1/3 fractional quantum Hall edge

Abstract

We present scanning optical stroboscopic confocal microscopy and spectroscopy measurements wherein three degrees of freedom, namely, energy, real space, and real time, are resolvable. The edge-state propagation is detected as a temporal change in the optical response in the downstream edge. We succeeded in visualizing the excited states of the most fundamental fractional quantum Hall state and the collective excitations near the edge. The results verify the current understanding of the edge excitation and also point toward further dynamics outside the edge channel.