The two dimensional system of electrons in a high magnetic field offers an opportunity to investigate a phase transition from a quantum liquid into a Wigner solid. Recent experiments have revealed an incipient composite fermion liquid in a parameter range where theory and many experiments had previously suggested the Wigner crystal phase, thus calling into question our current understanding. This Letter shows how very small quantitative corrections (< 1%) in the energy due to the weak interaction between composite fermions can cause a fundamental change in the nature of the ground state, thus providing insight into the puzzling experimental results.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0303487,
title = {Two-dimensional electron system in high magnetic fields: Wigner crystal vs. composite-fermion liquid},
author = {Sudhansu S. Mandal and Michael R. Peterson and Jainendra K. Jain},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0303487},
year = {2009}
}