Edge structure of fractional quantum Hall systems from density-functional theory

Abstract

We use the Hohenberg-Kohn formulation of density-functional theory (DFT) to study the density profile at the edge of a confined two-dimensional electron gas in the fractional quantum Hall regime. The strong correlation effects present in this system are accounted for in our DFT approach and lead to the appearance of incompressible strips at fractional filling factors for smooth confining potentials.