Two-particle time-domain interferometry in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect regime

I. Taktak, M. Kapfer, J. Nath, P. Roulleau, M. Acciai, J. Splettstoesser, I. Farrer, D. A. Ritchie, D. C. Glattli

Published 2022-01-24Version 1

As with like particles in ordinary vacuum, quasi-particles are elementary excitations of the ground state of condensed matter quantum phases. Demonstrating that they keep quantum coherence while propagating is a fundamental issue and an important challenge for their manipulation for quantum information tasks. This is particularly the case for the quasi-particles called anyons of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect (FQHE), a quantum phase displayed by two-dimensional electronic conductors in high magnetic fields. These fractionally charged quasi-particles obey anyonic statistics intermediate between fermionic and bosonic. Their quantum coherence has been observed by their transmission through the discrete localized states of electronic Fabry-P\'erot interferometers. Surprisingly, no quantum interference of anyons was observed in electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometers for which the quasi-particle transmission occurs via propagating states forming a continuum of states. Here we address this puzzle by demonstrating that FQHE anyons do keep a finite quantum coherence while propagating along extended states by using a different kind of interferometry, namely two-particle time-domain interference using an electronic beam-splitter. By varying the time delay between photo-created electron-hole pairs and measuring cross-correlated noise sensitive to the two-particle Hanbury Brown Twiss (HBT) phase, we observe strong quasi-particle interference. Visibilities as high as 53% and 60% are observed for e/5 and e/3 charged anyons propagating on the FQHE chiral edges modes. Our results give a positive message for the challenge of performing controlled quantum coherent braiding of anyons and call for a better understanding of the absence of interference in Mach-Zehnder interferometers.