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Integer QHE Gauge-Invariance Explanation

1981
PhysicsCondensed Matter / Materials PhysicsTheoremfoundational

Robert Laughlin's 1981 gauge-invariance argument (a Corbino-geometry gedankenexperiment) explaining why the Hall conductance in the integer quantum Hall effect is exactly quantized -- the first theoretical explanation of the 1980 experimental discovery, predating the more general topological (TKNN) explanation by a year.

Originators

  • Robert B. Laughlin

Landmark Paper

W1601700513 ↗
Not retracted (OpenAlex)

Checked 2026-08-30 — interim signal only, see docs/BASIC_ROADMAP.md Phase 10

Lineage

Refinement of Integer Quantum Hall Effect

Connections

No verified edges into the applied tree or elsewhere in Basic yet — never rendered as fabricated, just absent.