AC conductivity of a quantum Hall line junction

Abstract

We present a microscopic model for calculating the AC conductivity of a finite length line junction made up of two counter or co-propagating single mode quantum Hall edges with possibly different filling fractions. The effect of density-density interactions and the tunneling conductance (σ), between the two edges, is considered, and exact expressions are derived for the AC conductivity as a function of the frequency (ω), the length of the line junction and other parameters of the system. We reproduce the results of Phys. Rev. B 78, 085430 (2008) in the DC limit (ω\to 0), and generalize those results for an interacting system. As a function of ω, the AC conductivity shows significant oscillations if σis small; the oscillations become less prominent as σincreases. A renormalization group analysis shows that the system may be in a metallic or an insulating phase depending on the strength of the interactions. We discuss the experimental implications of this for the behavior of the AC conductivity at low temperatures.

9 pages, 3 figures; made some changes -- this is the published version