Presented by: Liang Fu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Abstract: The emergence of quasiparticles with fractional charge and fractional statistics is an essential feature of fractional quantum Hall states, which occur in two-dimensional electron gas under a strong magnetic field. An interesting question is whether fractional electron states can form spontaneously in quantum materials without the external magnetic field. I will describe theoretical ideas for realizing the fractional quantum Hall effect at zero magnetic field and highlight the recent observation of this remarkable phenomenon in moire materials with topological minibands. The prospect of new fractionalized phases without analogs in Landau levels will be also discussed.   

Host: Andrew Lucas