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The topological order of a quantum Hall state is mirrored by the gapless edge modes owing to bulk-edge correspondence. The state at the filling of ν = 5/2, predicted to host non-abelian anyons, supports a variety of edge modes (integer, fractional, neutral). To ensure thermal equilibration between the edge modes and thus accurately determine the state’s nature, it is advantageous to isolate the fractional channel (1/2 and neutral modes). In this study, we gapped out the integer modes by interfacing the ν = 5/2 state with integer states ν = 2 and ν = 3 and measured the thermal conductance of the isolated-interface channel. Our measured half-quantized thermal conductance confirms the non-abelian nature of the ν = 5/2 state and its particle-hole Pfaffian topological order. Such an isolated channel may be more amenable to braiding experiments.
Nicola Marzari, Davide Campi, Antimo Marrazzo, Davide Grassano