Anyon molecules in fractional quantum Hall states

Abstract

We use segment DMRG on the infinite cylinder to compute energies of charged excitations in gate-screened fractional quantum Hall states. For the $\nu=1/3$ Laughlin, $\nu=2/5$ Jain, and $\nu=5/2$ anti-Pfaffian states, we find screening can bind like-charged anyons into molecules, with a strong dependence on filling-factor, gate distance, and fusion channel. In the Laughlin state, stable $\pm 2e/3$ molecules and larger clusters appear over a broad gate-distance window. The Jain state is molecular throughout the range we consider. In the anti-Pfaffian, binding is strongest on the hole side, where the charge-$e/2$ molecule is fused into the $\psi$ channel over a broad window of gate distances. In all three cases, screening suppresses long-range repulsion and exposes an intermediate-range attraction encoded in the oscillatory density tail of the fundamental anyon. We discuss consequences for addition spectra, interferometry, Wigner crystallization, anyon superconductivity, and entropy measurements.