Non-Fermi liquid criticality and super universality in the quantum Hall regime

Abstract

We report the results of a microscopic theory, based on the topological concept of a $\theta$ vacuum, which show that the Coulomb potential, unlike any finite ranged interaction potential, renders the longstanding problem of the plateau transitions in the quantum Hall regime non-Fermi liquid like. Our present results, which are of outstanding significance for quantum phase transitions in general and composite fermion ideas in particular, provide a novel understanding of the critical exponent values that have recently been (re)taken from a series of state-of-the-art quantum Hall samples.