Quasiparticle states and the fractional quantum Hall effect

We propose new trial wave functions for the quasiparticle states relevant to the fractional quantum Hall effect. The wave functions have the virtue that the quasiparticle energy gaps can be simply evaluated in terms of the ground-state correlation functions. In the N=0 Landau level we obtain $E_g$≃0.114, $E_g$≃0.031 for ν=(1/3), ν=(1/5). In the N=1 Landau level, for which we present the first estimates, we find $E_g$≃0.059 and $E_g$≃0.043 for the same fractional filling factors. We explain the physical origin of the unexpected difference in the ν dependence and comment on its relationship to recent experiments.