Charge Fractionalization in the Integer Quantum Hall Effect

Abstract

We report an observation, via sensitive shot noise measurements, of charge fractionalization of chiral edge electrons in the integer quantum Hall effect regime. Such fractionalization results solely from interchannel Coulomb interaction, leading electrons to decompose to excitations carrying fractional charges. The experiment was performed by guiding a partitioned current carrying edge channel in proximity to another unbiased edge channel, leading to shot noise in the unbiased edge channel without net current, which exhibited an unconventional dependence on the partitioning. The determination of the fractional excitations, as well as the relative velocities of the two original (prior to the interaction) channels, relied on a recent theory pertaining to this measurement. Our result exemplifies the correlated nature of multiple chiral edge channels in the integer quantum Hall effect regime.