102 research outputs found
Quantum Hall Effect induced by electron-electron interaction in disordered GaAs layers with 3D spectrum
It is shown that the observed Quantum Hall Effect in epitaxial layers of
heavily doped n-type GaAs with thickness (50-140 nm) larger the mean free path
of the conduction electrons (15-30 nm) and, therefore, with a three-dimensional
single-particle spectrum is induced by the electron-electron interaction. The
Hall resistance R_xy of the thinnest sample reveals a wide plateau at small
activation energy E_a=0.4 K found in the temperature dependence of the
transverse resistance R_xx. The different minima in the transverse conductance
G_xx of the different samples show a universal temperature dependence
(logarithmic in a large range of rescaled temperatures T/T_0) which is
reminiscent of electron-electron-interaction effects in coherent diffusive
transport.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Fate of the extended states in a vanishing magnetic field: the role of spins in strongly-interacting 2D electron systems
In non-interacting or weakly-interacting 2D electron systems, the energy of
the extended states increases as the perpendicular magnetic field approaches
zero: the extended states "float up" in energy, giving rise to an insulator.
However, in those 2D systems where metallic conductivity has been recently
observed in zero magnetic field, the energy of the extended states remains
constant or even decreases as B -> 0, thus allowing conduction in the limit of
zero temperature. Here we show that aligning the electrons' spins causes the
extended states to once more "float up" in energy in the vanishing
perpendicular magnetic field, as they do for non- or weakly-interacting
electrons. The difference between extended states that float up (an insulator)
or remain finite (a metal) is thus tied to the existence of the spins
Magnetization and Level Statistics at Quantum Hall Liquid-Insulator Transition in the Lattice Model
Statistics of level spacing and magnetization are studied for the phase
diagram of the integer quantum Hall effect in a 2D finite lattice model with
Anderson disorder.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
A Symmetry for the Cosmological Constant
We study a symmetry, schematically Energy -> - Energy, which suppresses
matter contributions to the cosmological constant. The requisite negative
energy fluctuations are identified with a "ghost" copy of the Standard Model.
Gravity explicitly, but weakly, violates the symmetry, and naturalness requires
General Relativity to break down at short distances with testable consequences.
If this breakdown is accompanied by gravitational Lorentz-violation, the decay
of flat spacetime by ghost production is acceptably slow. We show that
inflation works in our scenario and can lead to the initial conditions required
for standard Big Bang cosmology.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, References correcte
Symmetry in the insulator - quantum Hall - insulator transitions observed in a Ge/SiGe quantum well
We examine the magnetic field driven insulator-quantum Hall-insulator
transitions of the two dimensional hole gas in a Ge/SiGe quantum well. We
observe direct transitions between low and high magnetic field insulators and
the quantum Hall state. With increasing magnetic field, the transitions
from insulating to quantum Hall and quantum Hall to insulating are very similar
with respect to their transport properties. We address the temperature
dependence around the transitions and show that the characteristic energy scale
for the high field transition is larger.Comment: 4 page
Quantifying the levitation picture of extended states in lattice models
The behavior of extended states is quantitatively analyzed for two
dimensional lattice models. A levitation picture is established for both
white-noise and correlated disorder potentials. In a continuum limit window of
the lattice models we find simple quantitative expressions for the extended
states levitation, suggesting an underlying universal behavior. On the other
hand, these results point out that the Quantum Hall phase diagrams may be
disorder dependent.Comment: 5 pages, submitted to PR
Levitation of quantum Hall critical states in a lattice model with spatially correlated disorder
The fate of the current carrying states of a quantum Hall system is
considered in the situation when the disorder strength is increased and the
transition from the quantum Hall liquid to the Hall insulator takes place. We
investigate a two-dimensional lattice model with spatially correlated disorder
potentials and calculate the density of states and the localization length
either by using a recursive Green function method or by direct diagonalization
in connection with the procedure of level statistics. From the knowledge of the
energy and disorder dependence of the localization length and the density of
states (DOS) of the corresponding Landau bands, the movement of the current
carrying states in the disorder--energy and disorder--filling-factor plane can
be traced by tuning the disorder strength.
We show results for all sub-bands, particularly the traces of the Chern and
anti-Chern states as well as the peak positions of the DOS. For small disorder
strength we recover the well known weak levitation of the critical states,
but we also reveal, for larger , the strong levitation of these states
across the Landau gaps without merging. We find the behavior to be similar for
exponentially, Gaussian, and Lorentzian correlated disorder potentials. Our
study resolves the discrepancies of previously published work in demonstrating
the conflicting results to be only special cases of a general lattice model
with spatially correlated disorder potentials.
To test whether the mixing between consecutive Landau bands is the origin of
the observed floating, we truncate the Hilbert space of our model Hamiltonian
and calculate the behavior of the current carrying states under these
restricted conditions.Comment: 10 pages, incl. 13 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Dimensional Crossover of Localisation and Delocalisation in a Quantum Hall Bar
The 2-- to 1--dimensional crossover of the localisation length of electrons
confined to a disordered quantum wire of finite width is studied in a
model of electrons moving in the potential of uncorrelated impurities. An
analytical formula for the localisation length is derived, describing the
dimensional crossover as function of width , conductance and
perpendicular magnetic field . On the basis of these results, the scaling
analysis of the quantum Hall effect in high Landau levels, and the
delocalisation transition in a quantum Hall wire are reconsidered.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Condensed matter and AdS/CFT
I review two classes of strong coupling problems in condensed matter physics,
and describe insights gained by application of the AdS/CFT correspondence. The
first class concerns non-zero temperature dynamics and transport in the
vicinity of quantum critical points described by relativistic field theories. I
describe how relativistic structures arise in models of physical interest,
present results for their quantum critical crossover functions and
magneto-thermoelectric hydrodynamics. The second class concerns symmetry
breaking transitions of two-dimensional systems in the presence of gapless
electronic excitations at isolated points or along lines (i.e. Fermi surfaces)
in the Brillouin zone. I describe the scaling structure of a recent theory of
the Ising-nematic transition in metals, and discuss its possible connection to
theories of Fermi surfaces obtained from simple AdS duals.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures; Lectures at the 5th Aegean summer school, "From
gravity to thermal gauge theories: the AdS/CFT correspondence", and the De
Sitter Lecture Series in Theoretical Physics 2009, University of Groninge
Patterned nanostructure in AgCo/Pt/MgO(001) thin film
The formation of patterned nanostructure in AgCo/Pt/MgO(001) thin film is
simulated by a technique of combining molecular dynamics and phase-field
theory. The dislocation (strain) network existing in Pt/MgO is used as a
template whose pattern is transferred to AgCo phase in spinodal decomposition,
resulting in regular arrays of Co islands that are attracted by the
dislocations. The influence of various factors, such as component concentration
and film thickness, is studied. It is found that the spinodal decomposition of
AgCo in this system is mainly characterized by a competition between a
surface-directed layer structure and the strain-induced patterned structure,
where the patterned Ag-Co structure only dominates in a small range near the
interface (less than 10 atomic layers). However, if the interlayer diffusion
can be minimized by controlling film growth conditions, it is shown that the
patterned structure can be formed throughout the entire film.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figure
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