Some applications of the field theory to condensed matter physics: the different sides of the quantum Hall effect

The quantum Hall effect appears in low temperature electron systems submitted to intense magnetic fields. Electrons are trapped in a thin layer (∼ 100.10-8 cm thick) at the interface between 2 semiconductors or between a semiconductor and an insulating material. This thesis presents 3 personal contributions to the physics of plane systems and particularly to quantum Hall effect systems. The first contribution is a topological approach, it involves the study of Landau's problem in a geometry nearing that of Hall effect experiments. A mathematical formalism has been defined and by using the Kubo's formula, the quantification of the Hall conductivity can be linked to the Chern class of threaded holes. The second contribution represents a phenomenological approach based on dual symmetries and particularly on modular symmetries. This contribution uses visibility diagrams that have already produced right predictions concerning resistivity curves or band structures. The introduction of a physical equivalence has allowed us to build a phase diagram for the quantum Hall effect at zero temperature. This phase diagram agrees with the experimental facts concerning : -) the existence of 2 insulating phases, -) direct transitions between an insulating phase and any Hall phase through integer or fractionary values of the filling factor (ν), -) selection rules, and -) classification of the Hall states and their distribution around a metal state. The third contribution concerns another phenomenological approach based on duality symmetries. We have considered a class of (2+1)-dimensional effective models with a Maxwell-Chern-Simons part that includes a non-locality. This non-locality implies the existence of a hidden duality symmetry with a Z2 component: z → 1/z. This symmetry has allowed us to meet the results of the Fisher's law concerning the components of the resistivity tensor. (A.C.)