Detecting Non-Abelian Anyons by Charging Spectroscopy

Observation of non-Abelian statistics for the e/4 quasiparticles in the v = 5/2 fractional quantum Hall state remains an outstanding experimental problem. The non-Abelian statistics are linked to the presence of additional low energy states in a system with localized quasiparticles, and, hence, an additional low temperature entropy. Recent experiments, which detect changes in the number of quasiparticles trapped in a local potential well as a function of an applied gate voltage, V-G, provide a possibility for measuring this entropy, if carried out over a suitable range of temperatures, T. We present a microscopic model for quasiparticles in a potential well and study the effects of non-Abelian statistics on the charge stability diagram in the V-G - T plane, including broadening at finite temperature. We predict a measurable slope for the first quasiparticle charging line and an even-odd effect in the diagram, which is a signature of non-Abelian statistics. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.106805