  This is a qualitative description of a systematic analysis carried out by us.
We address the question of whether fractionally charged particles, in the
context of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) can tunnel through a
potential barrier (around which the density of the quantum Hall liquid is
practically zero). Setting the barrier in a multiply-connected FQHE geometry
removes the "global constraint" which prohibits such tunnelling. We have
performed a microscopic analysis of adiabatic charge pumping and tunnelling in
a torus geometry. Below we summarize our analysis in semi-qualitative terms. We
also propose a setup-- different from the torus geometry-- amenable to
experimental verification.
