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The ν=2/3 fractional quantum Hall state is the hole-conjugate state to the primary Laughlin ν=1/3 state. We investigate transmission of edge states through quantum point contacts fabricated on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure designed to have a sharp confining potential. When a small but finite bias is applied, we observe an intermediate conductance plateau with G=0.5(e^{2}/h). This plateau is observed in multiple QPCs, and persists over a significant range of magnetic field, gate voltage, and source-drain bias, making it a robust feature. Using a simple model that considers scattering and equilibration between counterflowing charged edge modes, we find this half-integer quantized plateau to be consistent with full reflection of an inner counterpropagating -1/3 edge mode while the outer integer mode is fully transmitted. In a QPC fabricated on a different heterostructure which has a softer confining potential, we instead observe an intermediate conductance plateau at G=(1/3)(e^{2}/h). These results provide support for a model at ν=2/3 in which the edge transitions from a structure having an inner upstream -1/3 charge mode and outer downstream integer mode to a structure with two downstream 1/3 charge modes when the confining potential is tuned from sharp to soft and disorder prevails.

The spin 1/2 entropy of electrons trapped in a quantum dot has previously been measured with great accuracy, but the protocol used for that measurement is valid only within a restrictive set of conditions. Here, we demonstrate a novel entropy measurement protocol that is universal for arbitrary mesoscopic circuits and apply this new approach to measure the entropy of a quantum dot hybridized with a reservoir. The experimental results match closely to numerical renormalization group (NRG) calculations for small and intermediate coupling. For the largest couplings investigated in this Letter, NRG calculations predict a suppression of spin entropy at the charge transition due to the formation of a Kondo singlet, but that suppression is not observed in the experiment.

We study hydrodynamic and ballistic transport regimes through nonlocal resistance measurements and high-resolution kinetic simulations in a mesoscopic structure on a high-mobility two-dimensional electron system in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. We evince the existence of collective transport phenomena in both regimes and demonstrate that negative nonlocal resistances and current vortices are not exclusive to only the hydrodynamic regime. The combined experiments and simulations highlight the importance of device design, measurement schemes, and one-to-one modeling of experimental devices to demarcate various transport regimes.

We present simultaneous measurements of Josephson inductance and dc transport characteristics of ballistic Josephson junctions based upon an epitaxial Al-InAs heterostructure. The Josephson inductance at finite current bias directly reveals the current-phase relation. The proximity-induced gap, the critical current and the average value of the transparency τ[over ¯] are extracted without need for phase bias, demonstrating, e.g., a near-unity value of τ[over ¯]=0.94. Our method allows us to probe the devices deeply in the nondissipative regime, where ordinary transport measurements are featureless. In perpendicular magnetic field the junctions show a nearly perfect Fraunhofer pattern of the critical current, which is insensitive to the value of τ[over ¯]. In contrast, the signature of supercurrent interference in the inductance turns out to be extremely sensitive to τ[over ¯].

Because of their long coherence times and potential for scalability, semiconductor quantum-dot spin qubits hold great promise for quantum information processing. However, maintaining high connectivity between quantum-dot spin qubits, which favor linear arrays with nearest neighbor coupling, presents a challenge for large-scale quantum computing. In this work, we present evidence for long-distance spin-chain-mediated superexchange coupling between electron spin qubits in semiconductor quantum dots. We weakly couple two electron spins to the ends of a two-site spin chain. Depending on the spin state of the chain, we observe oscillations between the distant end spins. We resolve the dynamics of both the end spins and the chain itself, and our measurements agree with simulations. Superexchange is a promising technique to create long-distance coupling between quantum-dot spin qubits.

We report on transport signatures of hidden quantum Hall stripe (hQHS) phases in high (N>2) half-filled Landau levels of Al&#95;{x}Ga&#95;{1-x}As/Al&#95;{0.24}Ga&#95;{0.76}As quantum wells with varying Al mole fraction x<10^{-3}. Residing between the conventional stripe phases (lower N) and the isotropic liquid phases (higher N), where resistivity decreases as 1/N, these hQHS phases exhibit isotropic and N-independent resistivity. Using the experimental phase diagram, we establish that the stripe phases are more robust than theoretically predicted, calling for improved theoretical treatment. We also show that, unlike conventional stripe phases, the hQHS phases do not occur in ultrahigh mobility GaAs quantum wells but are likely to be found in other systems.

We demonstrate concomitant measurement of phase-dependent critical current and Andreev bound state spectrum in a highly transmissive InAs Josephson junction embedded in a dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Tunneling spectroscopy reveals Andreev bound states with near unity transmission probability. A nonsinusoidal current-phase relation is derived from the Andreev spectrum, showing excellent agreement with the one extracted from the SQUID critical current. Both measurements are reconciled within a short junction model where multiple Andreev bound states, with various transmission probabilities, contribute to the entire supercurrent flowing in the junction.

It is well established that the ground states of a two-dimensional electron gas with half-filled high (N≥2) Landau levels are compressible charge-ordered states, known as quantum Hall stripe (QHS) phases. The generic features of QHSs are a maximum (minimum) in a longitudinal resistance R&#95;{xx} (R&#95;{yy}) and a nonquantized Hall resistance R&#95;{H}. Here, we report on emergent minima (maxima) in R&#95;{xx} (R&#95;{yy}) and plateaulike features in R&#95;{H} in half-filled N≥3 Landau levels. Remarkably, these unexpected features develop at temperatures considerably lower than the onset temperature of QHSs, suggestive of a new ground state.

We present measurements of one-dimensional superconductor-semiconductor Coulomb islands, fabricated by gate confinement of a two-dimensional InAs heterostructure with an epitaxial Al layer. When tuned via electrostatic side gates to regimes without subgap states, Coulomb blockade reveals Cooper-pair mediated transport. When subgap states are present, Coulomb peak positions and heights oscillate in a correlated way with magnetic field and gate voltage, as predicted theoretically, with (anti)crossings in (parallel) transverse magnetic field indicating Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling. Overall results are consistent with a picture of overlapping Majorana zero modes in finite wires.

We use a one-electron quantum dot as a spectroscopic probe to study the spin properties of a gate-controlled multielectron GaAs quantum dot at the transition between odd and even occupation numbers. We observe that the multielectron ground-state transitions from spin-1/2-like to singletlike to tripletlike as we increase the detuning towards the next higher charge state. The sign reversal in the inferred exchange energy persists at zero magnetic field, and the exchange strength is tunable by gate voltages and in-plane magnetic fields. Complementing spin leakage spectroscopy data, the inspection of coherent multielectron spin exchange oscillations provides further evidence for the sign reversal and, inferentially, for the importance of nontrivial multielectron spin exchange correlations.

We report an experimental study of the scaling of zero-bias conductance peaks compatible with Majorana zero modes as a function of magnetic field, tunnel coupling, and temperature in one-dimensional structures fabricated from an epitaxial semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure. Results are consistent with theory, including a peak conductance that is proportional to tunnel coupling, saturates at 2e^{2}/h, decreases as expected with field-dependent gap, and collapses onto a simple scaling function in the dimensionless ratio of temperature and tunnel coupling.

Using a singlet-triplet spin qubit as a sensitive spectrometer of the GaAs nuclear spin bath, we demonstrate that the spectrum of Overhauser noise agrees with a classical spin diffusion model over 6 orders of magnitude in frequency, from 1 mHz to 1 kHz, is flat below 10 mHz, and falls as 1/f^{2} for frequency f≳1  Hz. Increasing the applied magnetic field from 0.1 to 0.75 T suppresses electron-mediated spin diffusion, which decreases the spectral content in the 1/f^{2} region and lowers the saturation frequency, each by an order of magnitude, consistent with a numerical model. Spectral content at megahertz frequencies is accessed using dynamical decoupling, which shows a crossover from the few-pulse regime (≲16π pulses), where transverse Overhauser fluctuations dominate dephasing, to the many-pulse regime (≳32 π pulses), where longitudinal Overhauser fluctuations with a 1/f spectrum dominate.

Reentrant integer quantum Hall (RIQH) states are believed to be correlated electron solid phases, although their microscopic description remains unclear. As bias current increases, longitudinal and Hall resistivities measured for these states exhibit multiple sharp breakdown transitions, a signature unique to RIQH states. A comparison of RIQH breakdown characteristics at multiple voltage probes indicates that these signatures can be ascribed to a phase boundary between broken-down and unbroken regions, spreading chirally from source and drain contacts as a function of bias current and passing voltage probes one by one. The chiral sense of the spreading is not set by the chirality of the edge state itself, instead depending on electron- or holelike character of the RIQH state.

We demonstrate a substantial improvement in the spin-exchange gate using symmetric control instead of conventional detuning in GaAs spin qubits, up to a factor of six increase in the quality factor of the gate. For symmetric operation, nanosecond voltage pulses are applied to the barrier that controls the interdot potential between quantum dots, modulating the exchange interaction while maintaining symmetry between the dots. Excellent agreement is found with a model that separately includes electrical and nuclear noise sources for both detuning and symmetric gating schemes. Unlike exchange control via detuning, the decoherence of symmetric exchange rotations is dominated by rotation-axis fluctuations due to nuclear field noise rather than direct exchange noise.

Quantum phases of electrons in the filling factor range 2≤ν≤3 are probed by the weak optical emission from the partially populated second Landau level and spin wave measurements. Observations of optical emission include a multiplet of sharp peaks that exhibit a strong filling factor dependence. Spin wave measurements by resonant inelastic light scattering probe breaking of spin rotational invariance and are used to link this optical emission with collective phases of electrons. A remarkably rapid interplay between emission peak intensities manifests phase competition in the second Landau level.

We report quantitative measurements of the impact of alloy disorder on the ν = 5/2 fractional quantum Hall state. Alloy disorder is controlled by the aluminum content x in the Al(x)Ga(1-x)As channel of a quantum well. We find that the ν = 5/2 state is suppressed with alloy scattering. To our surprise, in samples with alloy disorder the ν = 5/2 state appears at significantly reduced mobilities when compared to samples in which alloy disorder is not the dominant scattering mechanism. Our results highlight the distinct roles of the different types of disorder present in these samples, such as the short-range alloy and the long-range Coulomb disorder.