Interaction-induced interference in the integer quantum Hall effect

Abstract

In recent interference experiments with an electronic Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI), implemented in the integer quantum Hall effect regime, a flux periodicity of $h/2e$ was observed at bulk fillings $\nu_B>2.5$. The halved periodicity was accompanied by an interfering charge $e^*=2e$, determined by shot noise measurements. Here, we present measurements, demonstrating that, counterintuitively, the coherence and the interference periodicity of the interfering chiral edge channel are solely determined by the coherence and the enclosed flux of the adjacent edge channel. Our results elucidate the important role of the latter and suggest that a neutral chiral edge mode plays a crucial role in the pairing phenomenon. Our findings reveal that the observed pairing of electrons is not a curious isolated phenomenon, but one of many manifestations of unexpected edge physics in the quantum Hall effect regime.