Spin-dependent resistivity and quantum Hall ferromagnetism in two-dimensional electrons confined to AlAs quantum wells

We observe a strong dependence of the amplitude and field position of longitudinal resistivity (ρ_xx) peaks in the spin-resolved integer quantum Hall regime on the spin orientation of the Landau level (LL) in which the Fermi energy resides. The amplitude of a given peak is maximal when the partially filled LL has the same spin as the lowest LL, and amplitude changes as large as an order of magnitude are observed as the sample is tilted in field. In addition, the field position of both the ρ_xx peaks and plateau–plateau transitions in the Hall resistance shift depending on the spin orientation of the LLs. The spin dependence of the resistivity points to a new explanation for resistivity spikes, associated with first-order quantum Hall ferromagnetic transitions, that occur at the edges of quantum Hall states.     

Dissipative quantum hall effect in graphene near the Dirac point

We report on the unusual nature of the nu=0 state in the integer quantum Hall effect (QHE) in graphene and show that electron transport in this regime is dominated by counterpropagating edge states. Such states, intrinsic to massless Dirac quasiparticles, manifest themselves in a large longitudinal resistivity rho(xx) > or approximately h/e(2), in striking contrast to rho(xx) behavior in the standard QHE. The nu=0 state in graphene is also predicted to exhibit pronounced fluctuations in rho(xy) and rho(xx) and a smeared zero Hall plateau in sigma(xy), in agreement with experiment. The existence of gapless edge states puts stringent constraints on possible theoretical models of the nu=0 state.     

Bilayer counterflow transport at filling factor 1 in the strong interacting regime

We review magneto-transport properties of interacting GaAs bilayer hole systems, with very small inter-layer tunneling, in a geometry where equal currents are passed in opposite directions in the two, independently contacted layers (counterflow). In the quantum Hall state at total bilayer filling ν=1 both the longitudinal and Hall counterflow resistances tend to vanish in the limit of zero temperature, suggesting the existence of a superfluid transport mode in the counterflow geometry. As the density of the two layers is reduced, making the bilayer more interacting, the counterflow Hall resistivity (ρ_xy) decreases at a given temperature while the counterflow longitudinal resistivity (ρ_xx), which is much larger than ρ_xy, hardly depends on density. Our data suggest that the counterflow dissipation present at any finite temperature is a result of mobile vortices in the superfluid created by the ubiquitous disorder in this system.     

Investigations of the exciton condensate

Recent experiments on quantum Hall bilayers in the vicinity of total filling factor 1 (ν_T=1) have revealed many exciting observations characteristic of a superfluidic exciton condensate. We report on our experimental work involving the ν_T=1 exciton condensate in independently contacted bilayer two-dimensional electron systems. We observe previously reported phenomena as a zero-bias resonant tunneling peak, a quantized Hall drag resistivity, and in counter-flow configuration, the near vanishing of both ρ_xx and ρ_xy resistivity components. At balanced electron densities in the layers, we find for both drag and counter-flow current configurations, thermally activated transport with a monotonic increase of the activation energy for d/ℓ_B<1.65 with activation energies up to 0.4 K. In the imbalanced system the activation energies show a striking asymmetry around the balance point, implying that the gap to charge excitations is considerably different in the separate layers that form the bilayer condensate. This indicates that the measured activation energy is neither the binding energy of the excitons, nor their condensation energy.     

Studies of the quantum Hall to quantum Hall insulator transition in InSb-based 2DESs

The temperature dependence of ρ_xx is studied in the vicinity of the quantum Hall to quantum Hall insulator transition (ν=1→0) in InSb/InAlSb based 2DESs. ρ_xx displays a symmetric temperature dependence about the transition with on the QH side and on the insulating side. A plot of 1/T₀ for successive ν displays power-law divergence with 1/T₀∝|ν−ν_c|^−γ,² with γ=2.2±0.3. This critical behavior in addition to the behavior expected of the quantum transport regime confirms that the QH/QHI transition is indeed a good quantum phase transition.     

Anomalous quantum Hall effect induced by nearby quantum dots

Transport measurements in high magnetic fields have been performed on two-dimensional electron system (2DES) separated by a thin barrier layer from a layer of InAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs). Clear feature of quantum Hall effect was observed in spite of presence of QDs nearby 2DES. However, both magnetoresistance, ρ_xx, and Hall resistance, ρ_xy, are suppressed significantly only in the magnetic field range of filling factor in 2DES ν<1 and voltage applied on a front gate . The results indicate that the electron state in QDs induces spin-flip process in 2DES.     

Quantum Hall states near the charge-neutral Dirac point in graphene

We investigate the quantum Hall (QH) states near the charge-neutral Dirac point of a high mobility graphene sample in high magnetic fields. We find that the QH states at filling factors nu=+/-1 depend only on the perpendicular component of the field with respect to the graphene plane, indicating that they are not spin related. A nonlinear magnetic field dependence of the activation energy gap at filling factor nu=1 suggests a many-body origin. We therefore propose that the nu=0 and +/-1 states arise from the lifting of the spin and sublattice degeneracy of the n=0 Landau level, respectively.     

Quantum Hall effect in back-gated InAs/GaSb heterostructures under a tilted magnetic field

We investigate the quantum Hall effect (QHE) in the InAs/GaSb hybridized electron–hole system grown on a conductive InAs substrate which act as a back-gate. In these samples, the electron density is constant and the hole density is controlled by the gate-voltage. Under a magnetic field perpendicular to the sample plane, the QHE appears along integer Landau-level (LL) filling factors of the net-carriers, where the net-carrier density is the difference between the electron and hole densities. In addition, longitudinal resistance maxima corresponding to the crossing of the extended states of the original electron and hole LLs make the QHE regions along integer-ν_net discontinuous. Under tilted magnetic fields, these R_xx maxima disappear in the high magnetic field region. The results show that the in-plane magnetic field component enhances the electron–hole hybridization and the formation of minigaps at LL crossings.     

Topological aspects of graphene

Topological aspects of the electronic properties of graphene, including edge effects, with the tight-binding model on a honeycomb lattice and its extensions to show the following: (i) Presence of the pair of massless Dirac dispersions, which is the origin of anomalous properties including a peculiar quantum Hall effect (QHE), is not accidental to honeycomb, but is generic for a class of two-dimensional lattices that interpolate between square and π-flux lattices. Topological stability guarantees persistence of the peculiar QHE. (ii) While we have the massless Dirac dispersion only around E=0, the anomalous QHE associated with the Dirac cone unexpectedly persists for a wide range of the chemical potential. The range is bounded by van Hove singularities, at which we predict a transition to the ordinary fermion behaviour accompanied by huge jumps in the QHE with a sign change. (iii) We establish a coincidence between the quantum Hall effect in the bulk and the quantum Hall effect for the edge states, which is another topological effect. We have also explicitly shown that the E=0 edge states in honeycomb in zero magnetic field persist in magnetic field. (iv) We have also identified a topological origin of the fermion doubling in terms of the chiral symmetry.     

Spatial evolution of the generation and relaxation of excited carriers near the breakdown of the quantum Hall effect

We have measured the generation and relaxation of excited carriers along their drift direction near the breakdown of the quantum Hall effect (QHE). The dissipative resistivity ρ_xx(x) at current densities close to the critical value for the QHE breakdown was measured as a function of the distance x from the electron injection at x=0. By injecting “cold” electrons into constrictions at supercritical current levels, the evolution of the breakdown along the drift direction was monitored. After a smooth increase of the resistivity with the drifting distance, an avalanche-like rise towards a saturation value occurs. Drastic changes of the resistivity profiles with the applied current were found in a narrow range around the critical current. The observed behavior is attributed to impurity-assisted tunneling between Landau levels. By injecting hot electrons (excited in a periodic set of constrictions) into a region with subcritical current density, the relaxation process was analyzed. Inelastic relaxation lengths with typical values in the range from 0.3 to 4 μm were found, which agree within 10% with the elastic mean free path determined from the Hall mobility at zero magnetic field. We conclude that the energy relaxation process is triggered by scattering at impurity potentials.     

Spectroscopic determination of the order parameter of coupled bilayers at =1

We report inelastic light scattering measurements of spin excitations on coupled electron bilayers with relatively large tunneling gaps at total filling factor ν_T=1. We show that the pseudospin polarization order parameter, where the pseudospin labels the occupation of symmetric and antisymmetric levels, can be determined from the energy of long wavelength spin excitations. Our experiments indicate that the order parameter in the quantum Hall ground state collapses at the incompressible–compressible phase transition. The latter is driven by decreasing the tunneling gap through the application of an in-plane magnetic field.     

On the Casimir energy for a massive quantum scalar field and the cosmological constant

We present a rigorous, regularization-independent local quantum field theoretic treatment of the Casimir effect for a quantum scalar field of mass μ≠0 which yields closed form expressions for the energy density and pressure. As an application we show that there exist special states of the quantum field in which the expectation value of the renormalized energy–momentum tensor is, for any fixed time, independent of the space coordinate and of the perfect fluid form g_μ,νρ with ρ>0, thus providing a concrete quantum field theoretic model of the cosmological constant. This ρ represents the energy density associated to a state consisting of the vacuum and a certain number of excitations of zero momentum, i.e., the constituents correspond to lowest energy and pressure p0.     

Spin-polarized to valley-polarized transition in graphene bilayers at ν=0 in high magnetic fields

We investigate the transverse electric field (E) dependence of the ν=0 quantum Hall state (QHS) in dual-gated graphene bilayers in high magnetic fields. The longitudinal resistivity ρ(xx) measured at ν=0 shows an insulating behavior which is strongest in the vicinity of E=0, as well as at large E fields. At a fixed perpendicular magnetic field (B), the ν=0 QHS undergoes a transition as a function of the applied E, marked by a minimum, temperature-independent ρ(xx). This observation is explained by a transition from a spin-polarized ν=0 QHS at small E fields to a valley- (layer-)polarized ν=0 QHS at large E fields. The E field value at which the transition occurs follows a linear dependence on B.     

Observation of the quantum Hall effect in cleaved InAs surfaces

We have performed the in-plane magnetotransport measurements on the two-dimensional electron gas at the cleaved p-InAs (1 1 0) surface by deposition of Ag. The surface electron density N_s is determined from the Hall coefficient at . The coverage dependence of N_s is well explained by the assumption that each adsorbed Ag atom denotes one electron into InAs until the surface Fermi level reaches the adsorbate-induced donor level. The electron mobility μ is about and does not show a clear dependence on the coverage over . In the high-magnetic field regime of B>1/μ, Shubnikov–de Hass oscillations were observed. A beating pattern due to the strong spin–orbit interaction appears for high N_s. For lower N_s of , an apparent quantum Hall plateau for ν=4 and vanishing of the longitudinal resistivity were observed around .     

Inelastic light scattering by collective excitations in the fractional quantum Hall regime

We report an inelastic light scattering study of long wavelength collective gap excitations of fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states at ν=p/(2p+1) for . The ν-dependence of the gap energy suggests a collapse of the collective excitation gap near . In a range of filling factors close to , where the FQH gap is believed to collapse, we observe a collective excitation mode that exists only at temperatures below 150 mK.     

Nuclear-spin-lattice relaxation in a bilayer quantum Hall system

We examined the electron spin degree of freedom around the total Landau-level filling factor ν=1 in a bilayer system via nuclear spins. In a balanced bilayer system, nuclear-spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T₁, which probes low-energy electron spin fluctuations, increases gradually as the system is driven from the quantum Hall (QH) state through a phase transition to the compressible state. This result demonstrates that the electron spin degree of freedom is not frozen either in the QH or compressible states. Furthermore, as the density difference between the two layers is increased from balanced bilayer to monolayer configurations, 1/T₁ around ν=1 shows a rapid yet smooth increase. This suggests that pseudospin textures around the bilayer ν=1 system evolves continuously into the spin texture for the monolayer system.     

Landau-level splitting in graphene in high magnetic fields

The quantum Hall (QH) effect in two-dimensional electrons and holes in high quality graphene samples is studied in strong magnetic fields up to 45 T. QH plateaus at filling factors nu = 0, +/-1, +/-4 are discovered at magnetic fields B > 20 T, indicating the lifting of the fourfold degeneracy of the previously observed QH states at nu = +/-4(absolute value(n) + 1/2), where n is the Landau-level index. In particular, the presence of the nu = 0, +/-1 QH plateaus indicates that the Landau level at the charge neutral Dirac point splits into four sublevels, lifting sublattice and spin degeneracy. The QH effect at nu = +/-4 is investigated in a tilted magnetic field and can be attributed to lifting of the spin degeneracy of the n = 1 Landau level.     

The Haldane-Rezayi quantum Hall state and conformal field theory

We propose field theories for the bulk and edge of a quantum Hall state in the universality class of the Haldane-Rezayi wavefunction. The bulk theory is associated with the c = −2 conformal field theory. The topological properties of the state, such as the quasiparticle braiding statistics and ground state degeneracy on a torus, may be deduced from this conformal field theory. The 10-fold degeneracy on a torus is explained by the existence of a logarithmic operator in the c = −2 theory; this operator corresponds to a novel bulk excitation in the quantum Hall state. We argue that the edge theory is the c = 1 chiral Dirac fermion, which is related in a simple way to the c = −2 theory of the bulk. This theory is reformulated as a truncated version of a doublet of Dirac fermions in which the SU(2) symmetry - which corresponds to the spin-rotational symmetry of the quantum Hall system - is manifest and non-local. We make predictions for the current-voltage characteristics for transport through point contacts.     

Collapse of quantized Hall resistance and breakdown of dissipationless state in the integer quantum Hall effect: filling factor dependence

Magnetic field dependence of critical current for collapse of quantized Hall resistance I_cr(collapse) and critical current for breakdown of dissipationless state I_cr(breakdown) have been measured near the filling factor ν=4 of Landau levels in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure Hall bar. The difference I_cr(breakdown)−I_cr(collapse) decreases against the increase and the decrease in ν from 4 and the critical behavior disappears outside of the region 3.85<ν<4.15.     

Thermopower evidence for Wigner crystallization in the insulating phase of two-dimensional GaAs bilayer hole systems

We report on low-temperature thermopower measurements of interacting GaAs bilayer hole systems in the limit of no interlayer tunneling. These systems exhibit a reentrant insulating phase near the many-body quantum Hall state (QHS) at total filling factor ν=1, when both layers have the same density. The diffusion thermopower is expected to diverge as T^-1 in the presence of an energy gap (Wigner crystal) or to vanish in the case of a disordered induced mobility gap. Our results show that, as the temperature is decreased, the diffusion thermopower exhibits a T^-1 dependence in the insulating phase around ν=1. This behavior clearly indicates the opening of an energy gap at low temperature, in agreement with the formation of a pinned Wigner solid. Finally, we report on the T-dependence of the thermopower at ν=1.