Wigner Crystallization in a Quasi-3D Electronic System
Abstract
When a strong magnetic field is applied perpendicularly (along z) to a sheet confining electrons to two dimensions (x-y), highly correlated states emerge as a result of the interplay between electron-electron interactions, confinement and disorder. These so-called fractional quantum Hall (FQH) liquids form a series of states which ultimately give way to a periodic electron solid that crystallizes at high magnetic fields. This quantum phase of electrons has been identified previously as a disorder-pinned two-dimensional Wigner crystal with broken translational symmetry in the x-y plane. Here, we report our discovery of a new insulating quantum phase of electrons when a very high magnetic field, up to 45T, is applied in a geometry parallel (y-direction) to the two-dimensional electron sheet. Our data point towards this new quantum phase being an electron solid in a "quasi-3D" configuration induced by orbital coupling with the parallel field.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0904.3805,
title = {Wigner Crystallization in a Quasi-3D Electronic System},
author = {B. A. Piot and Z. Jiang and C. R. Dean and L. W. Engel and G. Gervais and L. N. Pfeiffer and K. W. West},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0904.3805},
year = {2009}
}