We consider the fractional quantum Hall effect at the filling $\nu =6/17$, where experiments have observed features of incompressibility in the form of a minimum in the longitudinal resistance. We propose a parton state denoted as “$3\overline{2}{1}^3$” and show it to be a feasible candidate to capture the ground state at $\nu =6/17$. We work out the low-energy effective theory of the $3\overline{2}{1}^3$ edge and make several predictions for experimentally measurable properties of the state which can help detect its underlying topological order. Intriguingly, we find that the $3\overline{2}{1}^3$ state likely lies in the same universality class as the state obtained from composite-fermionizing the $1+1/5$ Laughlin state.

• Received 16 May 2021
• Accepted 21 June 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.033087

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society