Thermal and Quantum Melting Phase Diagrams for a Magnetic-Field-Induced Wigner Solid

Meng K. Ma, K. A. Villegas Rosales, H. Deng, Y. J. Chung, L. N. Pfeiffer, K. W. West, K. W. Baldwin, R. Winkler, M. Shayegan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

A sufficiently large perpendicular magnetic field quenches the kinetic (Fermi) energy of an interacting two-dimensional (2D) system of fermions, making them susceptible to the formation of a Wigner solid (WS) phase in which the charged carriers organize themselves in a periodic array in order to minimize their Coulomb repulsion energy. In low-disorder 2D electron systems confined to modulation-doped GaAs heterostructures, signatures of a magnetic-field-induced WS appear at low temperatures and very small Landau level filling factors (ν≃1/5). In dilute GaAs 2D hole systems, on the other hand, thanks to the larger hole effective mass and the ensuing Landau level mixing, the WS forms at relatively higher fillings (ν≃1/3). Here we report our measurements of the fundamental temperature vs filling phase diagram for the 2D holes' WS-liquid thermal melting. Moreover, via changing the 2D hole density, we also probe their Landau level mixing vs filling WS-liquid quantum melting phase diagram. We find our data to be in good agreement with the results of very recent calculations, although intriguing subtleties remain.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number036601
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume125
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 17 2020
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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