Physical principles underlying the quantum Hall effect

In this contribution, we present an introduction to the physical principles underlying the quantum Hall effect. The field theoretic approach to the integral and fractional effect is sketched, with some emphasis on the mechanism of electromagnetic gauge anomaly cancellation by chiral degrees of freedom located on the edge of the sample. Applications of this formalism to the design and theoretical interpretation of interference experiments are outlined. (C) 2011 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.