Robert B. Laughlin

Robert B. Laughlin is an American theoretical physicist who shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics for explaining the fractional quantum Hall effect.

Horst Ludwig Störmer: A German-American physicist who shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the fractional quantum Hall effect. His experiments revealed the effect that Laughlin’s theory explained.
Fractional quantum Hall effect: A quantum Hall phenomenon in which a two-dimensional electron system exhibits Hall conductance at fractional multiples of a conductance quantum. It is the experimental phenomenon Laughlin’s theory explained.
Quantum Hall effect: The quantization of Hall conductance in a two-dimensional electron system under a strong magnetic field. The fractional effect Laughlin explained is a distinct regime of this broader phenomenon.
Topological order: A form of quantum order characterized by global properties and fractionalized excitations rather than a local symmetry-breaking pattern. Fractional Hall states became a paradigmatic example of order beyond conventional symmetry breaking.
Topological quantum computation: A model of quantum computation that encodes information in topological states and manipulates it through quasiparticle braiding. Non-Abelian anyons sought for this approach build on the fractionalized excitations of Hall systems.
Daniel C. Tsui: A Chinese-American physicist who shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the fractional quantum Hall effect. His measurements with Störmer established the phenomenon underlying Laughlin’s explanation.
Laughlin wavefunction: A many-electron trial wavefunction describing an incompressible state in the fractional quantum Hall regime. Laughlin introduced it to capture the correlated state responsible for fractional Hall plateaus.
Landau level: A quantized energy level of a charged particle moving in a magnetic field. Fractional Hall states form when electrons occupy partially filled Landau levels.
Fractionalization: The emergence of excitations carrying quantum numbers that are fractions of those of constituent particles. Laughlin’s state showed that electron systems can support fractional electric charge.
Non-Abelian anyon: A two-dimensional quasiparticle whose exchange transforms a many-particle state through a noncommuting operation. Some proposed fractional Hall states may host these excitations, extending Laughlin’s anyon picture.

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