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The development of fast and efficient quantum batteries is crucial for the prospects of quantum technologies. We show that both requirements are accomplished in the paradigmatic model of a harmonic oscillator strongly coupled to a highly non-Markovian thermal reservoir. At short times, a dynamical blockade of the reservoir prevents the leakage of energy towards its degrees of freedom, promoting a significant accumulation of energy in the battery with high efficiency. The possibility of implementing these conditions in $LC$ quantum circuits opens up new avenues for solid-state quantum batteries., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures (main text); 11 pages, 4 figures (supplementary)

Motivated by recent experimental observations carried out in superconducting transmon circuits, we compare two different charging protocols for three-level quantum batteries based on time dependent classical pulses. In the first case the complete charging is achieved through the application of two sequential pulses, while in the second the charging occurs in a unique step applying the two pulses simultaneously. Both protocols are analytically solvable leading to a complete control on the dynamics of the quantum system. According to this it is possible to determine that the latter approach is characterized by a shorter charging time, and consequently by a greater charging power. We have then tested these protocols on IBM quantum devices based on superconducting circuits in the transmon regime. The minimum achieved charging time represents the fastest stable charging reported so far in solid state quantum batteries., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures

The current fluctuations due to a temperature bias, i.e. the delta-$T$ noise, allow one to access properties of strongly interacting systems which cannot be addressed by the usual voltage-induced noise. In this work, we study the full delta-$T$ noise between two different fractional quantum Hall edge states, with filling factors $(\nu_L,\nu_R)$ in the Laughlin sequence, coupled through a quantum point contact and connected to two reservoirs at different temperatures. We are able to solve exactly the problem for all couplings and for any set of temperatures in the specific case of an hybrid junction $(1/3,1)$. Moreover, we derive a universal analytical expression which connects the delta-$T$ noise to the equilibrium one valid for all generic pairs $(\nu_L,\nu_R)$ up to the first order in the temperature mismatch. We expect that the linear term can be accessible in nowadays experimental set-ups. We describe the two opposite coupling regimes focusing on the strong one which correspond to a non-trivial situation. Our analysis on delta-$T$ noise allows us to better understand the transport properties of strongly interacting systems and to move toward more involved investigation concerning the statistics and scaling dimension of their emergent excitations., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures

We study the quantum fluctuations of the two quadratures of the emitted electromagnetic radiation generated by a quantum Hall device in a quantum point contact geometry. In particular, we focus our attention on the role played by the unavoidable electron-electron interactions between the two edge channels at filling factor two. We investigate quantum features of the emitted microwave radiation, such as squeezing, by studying the current fluctuations at finite frequency, accessible through a two-filters set-up placed just after the quantum point contact. We compare two different drives, respectively a cosine and a train of Lorentzian pulses, used for the injection of the excitations into the system. In both cases quantum features are reduced due to the interactions, however the Lorentzian drive is still characterized by a robust squeezing effect which can have important application on quantum information., Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures

We theoretically investigate the evolution of the peak height of an energy resolved electronic wave-packets ballistically propagating along integer quantum Hall edge channels at filling factor $\nu=2$. This is ultimately related to the elastic scattering amplitude for the fermionic excitations evaluated at different injection energy. We investigate this quantity assuming a short range capacitive coupling between the edges. Moreover, we also take into account phenomenologically the possibility of energy dissipation towards additional degrees of freedom both linear and quadratic in the injection energy. Comparing with recent experimental data, we rule out the non-dissipative case as well a quadratic dependence of the dissipation, indicating a linear energy loss rate as the best candidate to describe the behavior of the quasi-particle peak at short enough propagation lengths., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

We investigate the effects of spin-momentum locking on the interference and diffraction patterns due to a double- or single-slit in an electronic \emph{Gedankenexperiment}. We show that the inclusion of the spin-degree-of-freedom, when coupled to the motion direction of the carrier -- a typical situation that occurs in systems with spin-orbit interaction -- leads to a modification of the interference and diffraction patterns that depend on the geometrical parameters of the system., Comment: 10 pages and 8 figures

We consider a quantum battery modeled as a set of N independent two-level quantum systems driven by a time dependent classical source. Different figures of merit, such as stored energy, time of charging and energy quantum fluctuations during the charging process, are characterized in a wide range of parameters, by means of numerical approach and suitable analytical approximation scheme. Particular emphasis is put on the role of different initial conditions, describing the preparation state of the quantum battery, as well as on the sensitivity to the functional form of the external time-dependent drive. It is shown that an optimal charging protocol, characterized by fast charging time and the absence of charging fluctuations, can be achieved starting from the ground state of each two-level system, while other pure preparation states are less efficient. Moreover, we argue that a periodic train of peaked rectangular pulses can lead to fast charging. This study aims at providing a useful theoretical background in view of future experimental solid-state implementations., Comment: 32 pages (single column), 10 figures

We consider a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer for Lorentzian voltage pulses applied to Quantum Hall edge channels at filling factor $\nu=2$. Due to inter-edge interactions, the injected electronic wave-packets fractionalize before partitioning at a quantum point contact. Remarkably enough, differently from what theoretically predicted and experimentally observed by using other injection techniques, we demonstrate that, when the injection occurs through time-dependent voltage pulses (arbitrarily shaped), the Hong-Ou-Mandel noise signal always vanishes for a symmetric device, and that a mismatch in the distances between the injectors and the point of collision is needed in order to reduce the visibility of the dip. We also show that, by properly tuning these distances or by applying different voltages on the two edge channels in each arm of the interferometer, it is possible to estimate the intensity of the inter-edge interaction. The voltage pulses are chosen of the Lorentzian type because of their experimental relevance., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures

The one-dimensional, chiral edge channels of the quantum Hall effect are a promising platform in which to implement electron quantum optics experiments; however, Coulomb interactions between edge channels are a major source of decoherence and energy relaxation. It is therefore of large interest to understand the range and limitations of the simple quantum electron optics picture. Here we confirm experimentally for the first time the predicted relaxation and revival of electrons injected at finite energy into an edge channel. The observed decay of the injected electrons is reproduced theoretically within a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid framework, including an important dissipation towards external degrees of freedom. This gives us a quantitative empirical understanding of the strength of the interaction and the dissipation., Comment: Includes supplementary information

We review and develop recent results regarding Leviton excitations generated in topological states of matter - such as integer and fractional quantum Hall edge channels - and carrying a charge multiple of the electronic one. The peculiar features associated to these clean and robust emerging excitations can be detected through current correlation measurements. In particular, relevant information can be extracted from the noise signal in generalized Hong-Ou-Mandel experiments, where Levitons with different charges collide against each other at a quantum point contact. We describe this quantity both in the framework of the photo-assisted noise formalism and in terms of a very interesting and transparent picture based on wave-packet overlap., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

A mesoscopic device in the simple tunnel junction or quantum point contact geometry emits microwaves with remarkable quantum properties, when subjected to a sinusoidal drive in the GHz range. In particular, single and two-photon squeezing as well as entanglement in the frequency domain have been reported. By revising the photo-assisted noise analysis developed in the framework of electron quantum optics, we present a detailed comparison between the cosine drive case and other experimentally relavent periodic voltages such as rectangular and Lorentzian pulses. We show that the latter drive is the best candidate in order to enhance quantum features and purity of the outgoing single and two-photon states, a noteworthy result in a quantum information perspective., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

We consider transport properties of a two dimensional topological insulator in a double quantum point contact geometry in presence of a time-dependent external field. In the proposed setup an external gate is placed above a single constriction and it couples only with electrons belonging to the top edge. This asymmetric configuration and the presence of an ac signal allow for a quantum pumping mechanism, which, in turn, can generate finite heat and charge currents in an unbiased device configuration. A microscopic model for the coupling with the external time-dependent gate potential is developed and the induced finite heat and charge currents are investigated. We demonstrate that in the non-interacting case, heat flow is associated with a single spin component, due to the helical nature of the edge states, and therefore a finite and polarized heat current is obtained in this configuration. The presence of e-e interchannel interactions strongly affects the current signal, lowering the degree of polarization of the system. Finally, we also show that separate heat and charge flows can be achieved, varying the amplitude of the external gate., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures

The analog of two seminal quantum optics experiments are considered in a condensed matter setting with single electron sources injecting electronic wave packets on edge states coupled through a quantum point contact. When only one electron is injected, the measurement of noise correlations at the output of the quantum point contact corresponds to the Hanbury-Brown and Twiss setup. When two electrons are injected on opposite edges, the equivalent of the Hong-Ou-Mandel collision is achieved, exhibiting a dip as in the coincidence measurements of quantum optics. The Landauer-Buttiker scattering theory is used to first review these phenomena in the integer quantum Hall effect, next, to focus on two more exotic systems: edge states of two dimensional topological insulators, where new physics emerges from time reversal symmetry and three electron collisions can be achieved; and edges states of a hybrid Hall/superconducting device, which allow to perform electron quantum optics experiments with Bogoliubov quasiparticles., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, invited contribution for a focus issue on "Single-electron control in solid-state devices"

We study the decoherence and relaxation of a single elementary electronic excitation propagating in a one-dimensional chiral conductor. Using two-particle interferences in the electronic analog of the Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment, we analyze quantitatively the decoherence scenario of a single electron propagating along a quantum Hall edge channel at filling factor 2. The decoherence results from the emergence of collective neutral excitations induced by Coulomb interaction and leading, in one dimension, to the destruction of the elementary quasiparticle. This study establishes the relevance of electron quantum optics setups to provide stringent tests of strong interaction effects in one-dimensional conductors described by Luttinger liquids paradigm., Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures To be published in Physical Review B

We investigate a Fabry-P\'erot interferometer in the integer Hall regime in which only one edge channel is transmitted and n channels are trapped into the interferometer loop. Addressing recent experimental observations, we assume that Coulomb blockade effects are completely suppressed due to screening, while keeping track of a residual strong short range electron-electron interaction between the co-propagating edge channels trapped into the interferometer loop. This kind of interaction can be completely described in the framework of the edge-magnetoplasmon scattering matrix theory allowing us to evaluate the backscattering current and the associated differential conductance as a function of the bias voltage. The remarkable features of these quantities are discussed as a function of the number of trapped channels. The developed formalism reveals very general and provides also a simple way to model the experimentally relevant geometry in which some of the trapped channels are absorbed into an Ohmic contact, leading to energy dissipation., Comment: 20 pages (single column), 4 figures

We study the minimal excitations of fractional quantum Hall edges, extending the notion of levitons to interacting systems. Using both perturbative and exact calculations, we show that they arise in response to a Lorentzian potential with quantized flux. They carry an integer charge, thus involving several Laughlin quasiparticles, and leave a Poissonian signature in a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss partition noise measurement at low transparency. This makes them readily accessible experimentally, ultimately offering the opportunity to study real-time transport of Abelian and non-Abelian excitations., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

We investigate the finite frequency noise of a quantum point contact at filling factor {\nu} = 5/2 using a weakly coupled resonant LC circuit as a detector. We show how one could spectroscopically address the fractional charged excitations inspecting separately their charge and scaling dimensions. We thus compare the behaviour of the Pfaffian and the anti-Pfaffian non-Abelian edge states models in order to give possible experimental signatures to identify the appropriate model for this fractional quantum Hall states. Finally we investigate how the temperature of the LC resonant circuit can be used in order to enhance the sensibility of the measurement scheme., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Contribution to UPON2015, accepted in J. Stat. Mech. Theor. Exp

Engineering and studying few-electron states in ballistic conductors is a key step towards understanding entanglement in quantum electronic systems. In this Letter, we introduce the intrinsic two-electron coherence of an electronic source in quantum Hall edge channels and relate it to two-electron wavefunctions and to current noise in an Hanbury Brown--Twiss interferometer. Inspired by the analogy with photon quantum optics, we propose to measure the intrinsic two-electron coherence of a source using low-frequency current correlation measurements at the output of a Franson interferometer. To illustrate this protocol, we discuss how it can distinguish between a time-bin entangled pure state and a statistical mixture of time shifted electron pairs., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, version 2 with improved introduction and bibliography

We propose a device consisting in an antidot periodically driven in time by a magnetic field as a fractional quantum Hall counterpart of the celebrated mesoscopic capacitor-based single electron source. We fully characterize the setup as an ideal emitter of individual quasiparticles and electrons into fractional quantum Hall edge channels of the Laughlin sequence. Our treatment relies on a master equation approach and identifies the optimal regime of operation for both types of sources. The quasiparticle/quasihole emission regime involves in practice only two charge states of the antidot, allowing for an analytic treatment. We show the precise quantization of the emitted charge, we determine its optimal working regime, and we compute the phase noise/shot noise crossover as a function of the escape time from the emitter. The emission of electrons, which calls for a larger amplitude of the drive, requires a full numerical treatment of the master equations as more quasiparticle charge states are involved. Nevertheless, in this case the emission of one electron charge followed by one hole per period can also be achieved, and the overall shape of the noise spectrum is similar to that of the quasiparticle source, but the presence of additional quasiparticle processes enhances the noise amplitude., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures

We study the finite frequency (F.F.) noise properties of edge states in the Laughlin state. We investigate the model of a resonant detector coupled to a quantum point contact in the weak-backscattering limit. In particular we discuss the impact of possible renormalization of the Luttinger exponent, due to environmental effects, on the measured quantities and we propose a simple way to extract such non-universal parameters from noise measurements., Comment: Proceeding of the conference LT27 (Buenos Aires)

We consider a device which allows to create and probe single Majorana fermions, in the form of Bogoliubov quasiparticles. It is composed of two counter-propagating edge channels, each put in proximity with a superconducting region where Andreev reflection operates, and which thus converts electrons into Bogoliubov quasiparticles. The edge channels then meet at a quantum point contact where collisions can be achieved. A voltage biased version of the setup was studied in Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 070604 (2014) and showed non-local interference phenomena and signatures of Bogoliubov quasiparticle collisions in the high frequency noise characteristics at the output, constituting an evidence of the Majorana fermion nature of these excitations. Here, voltage biased leads are replaced by single electron sources in order to achieve collisions of single Bogoliubov quasiparticles, with the major advantage that zero-frequency noise measurements are sufficient to access the intimate nature of Bogoliubov wave-packets. We compute the injection parameters of the source, and go on to investigate the Hanbury-Brown and Twiss and Hong-Ou-Mandel signal at the output, as a function of the mixing angle which controls the electron/hole component of the Bogoliubov wave-packet. In particular, information on the internal structure of the Bogoliubov quasiparticle can be recovered when such a quasiparticle collides with a pure electron. Experimental feasibility with singlet or triplet superconductors is discussed., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

Quantum Hall edge channels at integer filling factor provide a unique test-bench to understand decoherence and relaxation of single electronic excitations in a ballistic quantum conductor. In this Letter, we obtain a full visualization of the decoherence scenario of energy (Landau) and time (Levitov) resolved single electron excitations at filling factor $\nu=2$. We show that the Landau excitation exhibits a fast relaxation followed by spin-charge separation whereas the Levitov excitation only experiences spin-charge separation. We finally suggest to use Hong-Ou-Mandel type experiments to probe specific signatures of these different scenarios., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures

The edge channels of the quantum Hall effect provide one dimensional chiral and ballistic wires along which electrons can be guided in optics like setup. Electronic propagation can then be analyzed using concepts and tools derived from optics. After a brief review of electron optics experiments performed using stationary current sources which continuously emit electrons in the conductor, this paper focuses on triggered sources, which can generate on-demand a single particle state. It first outlines the electron optics formalism and its analogies and differences with photon optics and then turns to the presentation of single electron emitters and their characterization through the measurements of the average electrical current and its correlations. This is followed by a discussion of electron quantum optics experiments in the Hanbury-Brown and Twiss geometry where two-particle interferences occur. Finally, Coulomb interactions effects and their influence on single electron states are considered.

We investigate the finite frequency (f.f.) noise properties of edge states in the quantum Hall regime. We consider the measurement scheme of a resonant detector coupled to a quantum point contact in the weak-backscattering limit. A detailed analysis of the difference between the "measured" noise, due to the presence of the resonant detector, and the symmetrized f.f. noise is presented. We discuss both the Laughlin and Jain sequences, studying the tunnelling excitations in these hierarchical models. We argue that the measured noise can better distinguish between the different excitations in the tunnelling process with respect to the symmetrized f.f. counterpart in an experimentally relevant range of parameters. Finally, we illustrate the effect of the detector temperature on the sensibility of this measure., Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures

The edge states of a two-dimensional topological insulator are characterized by their helicity, a very remarkable property which is related to the time-reversal symmetry and the topology of the underlying system. We theoretically investigate a Hong-Ou-Mandel like setup as a tool to probe it. Collisions of two electrons with the same spin show a Pauli dip, analogous to the one obtained in the integer quantum Hall case. Moreover, the collisions between electrons of opposite spin also lead to a dip, known as $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ dip, which is a direct consequence of the constraints imposed by time-reversal symmetry. In contrast to the integer quantum Hall case, the visibility of these dips is reduced by the presence of the additional edge channels, and crucially depends on the properties of the quantum point contact. As a unique feature of this system, we show the possibility of three-electron interference, which leads to a total suppression of the noise independently of the point contact configuration. This is assured by the peculiar interplay between Fermi statistics and topology. This work intends to extend the domain of applicability of electron quantum optics., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

We perform a joint numerical and experimental study to sistematically characterize the motion of drops sliding over a periodic array of alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic stripes with large wettability contrast, and typical width of hundreds of $\mu \textrm{m}$. The fraction of the hydrophobic stripes has been varied from about 20% to 80%. The effects of the heterogeneous patterning can be described by a renormalized value of the critical Bond number, i.e. the critical dimensionless force needed to depin the drop before it starts to move. Close to the critical Bond number we observe a jerkily motion characterized by an evident stick-slip dynamics. As a result, dissipation is strongly localized in time, and the mean velocity of the drops can easily decrease by an order of magnitude compared to the sliding on homogeneous surface. Lattice Boltzmann (LB) numerical simulations are crucial for disclosing to what extent the sliding dynamics can be deduced from the computed balance of capillary, viscous and body forces at varying the Bond number, the surface composition and the liquid viscosity. Away from the critical Bond number, we characterize both experimentally and numerically the dissipation inside the droplet by studying the relation between the average velocity and the applied volume forces., Comment: 15 Pags., 10 Figs

Recent electron quantum optics experiments performed with on-demand single electron sources call for a mixed time/frequency approach to electronic quantum coherence. Here, we present a Wigner function representation of first order electronic coherence and show that is provides a natural visualization of the excitations emitted by recently demonstrated single electron sources. It also gives a unified perspective on single particle and two particle interferometry experiments. In particular, we introduce a non-classicality criterion for single electron coherence and discuss it in the context of Mach-Zenhder interferometry. Finally, the electronic Hanbury Brown and Twiss and the Hong Ou Mandel experiments are interpreted in terms of overlaps of Wigner function thus connecting them to signal processing., Comment: 19 pages and 11 figures

We investigate the electrical switching of charge and spin transport in a topological insulator nanoconstriction in a four terminal device. The switch of the edge channels is caused by the coupling between edge states which overlap in the constriction and by the tunneling effects at the contacts and therefore can be manipulated by tuning the applied voltages on the split-gate or by geometrical etching. The switching mechanism can be conveniently studied by electron interferometry involving the measurements of the current in different configurations of the side gates, while the applied bias from the external leads can be tuned to obtain pure charge or pure spin currents (charge- and spin- bias configurations). Relevant signatures of quantum confinement effects, quantum size effects and energy gap are evident in the Fabry-Perot physics of the device allowing for a full characterization of the charge and spin currents. The proposed electrical switching behavior offers an efficient tool to manipulate topological edge state transport in a controllable way., Comment: 10 pages; 14 figures

We investigate the properties of the finite frequency noise in a quantum point contact geometry for the fractional quantum Hall state at filling factor $\nu=2/5$. The results are obtained in the framework of the Wen's hierarchical model. We show that the peak structure of the colored noise allows to discriminate among different possible excitations involved in the tunneling. In particular, optimal values of voltage and temperature are found in order to enhance the visibility of the peak associated with the tunneling of a 2-agglomerate, namely an excitation with charge double of the fundamental one associated to the single quasiparticle., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, to be published in the Proceedings of the Conference on the Frontiers of Quantum and Mesoscopic Thermodynamics (FQMT11)

We calculate the dominant excitations for the $k$-level ($k\in\mathbb{N}$) Read-Rezayi (RR) states and their particle-hole conjugates, the anti Read-Rezayi ($\bar{\textrm{RR}}$), proposed for quantum Hall states. These states are supposed to be build over the second Landau level with total filling factor $\nu=2+\nu^*$ with $\nu^*=k/(k+2)$ for RR and $\nu^*=2/(k+2)$ for $\bar{\textrm{RR}}$. In the $k$-level RR states, based on $\mathbb{Z}_k$ parafermions, the dominant excitations are the fundamental quasiparticles with fractional charge $e^*_k= e/(k + 2)$, with $e$ the electron charge, if $k=2,3$. For k=4 the single-qp and the 2-agglomerate, with charge $2e^*_k$, have the same scaling and both dominate, while for $k>4$ the 2-agglomerates are dominant. Anyway the dominance of the 2-agglomerates can be affected by the presence of environmental renormalizations. For all the $k$-level $\bar{\textrm{RR}}$ states the single-qp and the 2-agglomerate have the same scaling and both dominate. In this case only the presence of environmental renormalizations can make one dominant over the other. We determine the conditions where the environmental renormalizations of the charged and neutral modes make dominant the Abelian 2-agglomerates over the non-Abelian single-quasiparticles in the two models and for any value of $k$. We conclude observing that, according these predictions, the dominance of 2-agglomerates, at very low energies for the $\nu=5/2$, can be an interesting indication supporting the validity of the anti-Pfaffian model in comparison to the Pfaffian., Comment: 6 pages, to be published in the Proceedings of the Conference on the Frontiers of Quantum and Mesoscopic Thermodynamics (FQMT11)

We consider a quantum spin Hall system in a two-terminal setup, with an extended tunneling contact connecting upper and lower edges. We analyze the effects of this geometry on the backscattering current as a function of voltage, temperature, and strength of the electron interactions. We find that this configuration may be useful to confirm the helical nature of the edge states and to extract their propagation velocity. By comparing with the usual quantum point contact geometry, we observe that the power-law behaviors predicted for the backscattering current and the linear conductance are recovered for low enough energies, while different power-laws also emerge at higher energies., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, published version

We propose a general mechanism for renormalization of the tunneling exponents in edge states of the fractional quantum Hall effect. Mutual effects of the coupling with out-of-equilibrium 1/f noise and dissipation are considered both for the Laughlin sequence and for composite co- and counter-propagating edge states with Abelian or non-Abelian statistics. For states with counter-propagating modes we demonstrate the robustness of the proposed mechanism in the so called disorder-dominated phase. Prototypes of these states, such as \nu=2/3 and \nu=5/2, are discussed in detail and the rich phenomenology induced by the presence of a noisy environment is presented. The proposed mechanism justifies the strong renormalizations reported in many experimental observations carried out at low temperatures. We show how environmental effects could affect the relevance of the tunneling excitations, leading to important implications in particular for the \nu=5/2 case., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

We present a detailed analysis of finite frequency noise for the $\nu=5/2$ fractional quantum Hall state in a quantum point contact geometry. The results are obtained within the Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian models. We show that the behaviour of the coloured noise allows unambigously to discriminate among tunneling excitations with different charges. Optimal values of the external bias are found in order to emphasize the visibility of the noise peak associated with the tunneling of a 2-agglomerate, namely an excitation with charge double of the fundamental one. These correspond to the regime in which the bias is larger than the neutral modes cut-off frequency. The dependence on the temperature is also investigated in order to discriminate between the considered models., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to New Journal of Phyiscs

We present a field theoretical analysis of the 2+1 dimensional BF model with boundary in the Abelian and the non-Abelian case based on the Symanzik's separability condition. In both cases on the edges we obtain Ka\v{c}--Moody algebras with opposite chiralities reflecting the time reversal invariance of the theory. While the Abelian case presents an apparent arbitrariness in the value of the central charge, the physics on the boundary of the non-Abelian theory is completely determined by time reversal and gauge symmetry. The discussion of the non-Abelian BF model shows that time reversal symmetry on the boundary implies the existence of counter-propagating chiral currents., Comment: version to appear in New Journal of Physics

We explain effective charge anomalies recently observed for fractional quantum Hall edge states at $\nu=5/2$ [M. Dolev, Y. Gross, Y. C. Chung, M. Heiblum, V. Umansky, and D. Mahalu, Phys.Rev. B. \textbf{81}, 161303(R) (2010)]. The experimental data of differential conductance and excess noise are fitted, using the anti-Pfaffian model, by properly take into account renormalizations of the Luttinger parameters induced by the coupling of the system with an intrinsic $1/f$ noise. We demonstrate that a peculiar agglomerate excitation with charge $e/2$, double of the expected $e/4$ charge, dominates the transport properties at low energies., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures