Fingerprints of anti-Pfaffian topological order in quantum point contact transport

Abstract

Despite recent experimental developments, the topological order of the fractional quantum Hall state at filling $\nu=5/2$ remains an outstanding question. We study conductance and shot noise in a quantum point contact device in the charge-equilibrated regime and show that, among Pfaffian, particle-hole Praffian, and anti-Pfaffian (aPf) candidate states, the hole-conjugate aPf state is unique in that it can produce a conductance plateau at $G=(7/3)e^2/h$ by two fundamentally distinct mechanisms. We demonstrate that these mechanisms can be distinguished by shot noise measurements on the plateaus. We also determine distinct features of the conductance of the aPf state in the coherent regime. Our results can be used to experimentally single out the aPf order.