Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixing
What is the fate of the ground state of a two-dimensional electron system at very low Landau level filling factors (ν) where interaction reigns supreme? An ordered array of electrons, the so-called Wigner crystal, has long been believed to be the answer. It was in fact the search for the elusive Wig...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Physical Review Research |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013181 |
| _version_ | 1827285838359166976 |
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| author | K. A. Villegas Rosales S. K. Singh Meng K. Ma Md. Shafayat Hossain Y. J. Chung L. N. Pfeiffer K. W. West K. W. Baldwin M. Shayegan |
| author_facet | K. A. Villegas Rosales S. K. Singh Meng K. Ma Md. Shafayat Hossain Y. J. Chung L. N. Pfeiffer K. W. West K. W. Baldwin M. Shayegan |
| author_sort | K. A. Villegas Rosales |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | What is the fate of the ground state of a two-dimensional electron system at very low Landau level filling factors (ν) where interaction reigns supreme? An ordered array of electrons, the so-called Wigner crystal, has long been believed to be the answer. It was in fact the search for the elusive Wigner crystal that led to the discovery of an unexpected, incompressible liquid state, namely the fractional quantum Hall state at ν=1/3. Understanding the competition between the liquid and solid ground states has since remained an active field of fundamental research. Here we report experimental data for a new two-dimensional system where the electrons are confined to an AlAs quantum well. The exceptionally high quality of the samples and the large electron effective mass allow us to determine the liquid-solid phase diagram for the two-dimensional electrons in a large range of filling factors near ≃1/3 and ≃1/5. The data and their comparison with an available theoretical phase diagram reveal the crucial role of Landau level mixing and finite electron layer thickness in determining the prevailing ground states. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:20:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3686af131676448387b80fdabb36a44d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2643-1564 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:20:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physical Review Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-3686af131676448387b80fdabb36a44d2024-04-12T17:07:42ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642021-02-013101318110.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013181Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixingK. A. Villegas RosalesS. K. SinghMeng K. MaMd. Shafayat HossainY. J. ChungL. N. PfeifferK. W. WestK. W. BaldwinM. ShayeganWhat is the fate of the ground state of a two-dimensional electron system at very low Landau level filling factors (ν) where interaction reigns supreme? An ordered array of electrons, the so-called Wigner crystal, has long been believed to be the answer. It was in fact the search for the elusive Wigner crystal that led to the discovery of an unexpected, incompressible liquid state, namely the fractional quantum Hall state at ν=1/3. Understanding the competition between the liquid and solid ground states has since remained an active field of fundamental research. Here we report experimental data for a new two-dimensional system where the electrons are confined to an AlAs quantum well. The exceptionally high quality of the samples and the large electron effective mass allow us to determine the liquid-solid phase diagram for the two-dimensional electrons in a large range of filling factors near ≃1/3 and ≃1/5. The data and their comparison with an available theoretical phase diagram reveal the crucial role of Landau level mixing and finite electron layer thickness in determining the prevailing ground states.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013181 |
| spellingShingle | K. A. Villegas Rosales S. K. Singh Meng K. Ma Md. Shafayat Hossain Y. J. Chung L. N. Pfeiffer K. W. West K. W. Baldwin M. Shayegan Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixing Physical Review Research |
| title | Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixing |
| title_full | Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixing |
| title_fullStr | Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixing |
| title_short | Competition between fractional quantum Hall liquid and Wigner solid at small fillings: Role of layer thickness and Landau level mixing |
| title_sort | competition between fractional quantum hall liquid and wigner solid at small fillings role of layer thickness and landau level mixing |
| url | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013181 |
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