Physical Review B 51, 3989-3992 (1995)
[Issue 6 -- February 1, 1995]
Quantum Hall effect in a vortex liquid
Baruch Horovitz
Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva 84105,
Israel
(Received 11 October 1994)
A two-dimensional superconducting film in a magnetic field is considered
in the adiabatic limit
when vortex dynamics is dominated by the Magnus force. By mapping
a vortex liquid state into that of electrons in an effective magnetic
field, I find that the Hall conductance is quantized as sigma_xy=(4e^2/h)[1+n(2m-1)]/n
with n,m >0 integers, predicting a fractional quantum Hall effect
in a boson system. This phenomenon can also account for observed steps
in the magnetization curve of YBa2Cu3O7- delta . The feasibility of a
vortex liquid, i.e., melting of a flux lattice at T=0 by quantum fluctuations,
is studied.
©1995 The American Physical Society.
PACS: 74.60.Ge 74.60.-w