FAILURE OF THE INTEGER QUANTUM HALL-EFFECT WITHOUT DISSIPATION

Recent integer quantum Hall effect experiments on silicon samples have shown deviations from the quantized Hall resistance despite a vanishing longitudinal resistance. Here we argue that single short-range elastic scatterers at the edges can lead to observable deviations in the Hall conductivity without backscattering, at the large currents typical experimentally. We do so within an approach to steady-state mesoscopic transport which is not restricted to the linear-response regime (i.e., to small currents).