Wigner Crystallization in a Quasi-3D Electronic System

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

Optical spectroscopy of GaAs in the extreme quantum limit: integer and fractional quantum Hall effect, and onset of the electron solid

Our recent optical detection of the integer and fractional quantum Hall effects in GaAs, by intrinsic band-gap photoluminescence at dilution refrigerator temperatures, is reviewed. This work has been extended to the extreme quantum limit where a photoluminescence peak develops close to Landau level filling factor v = 1 5 which correlates both with the onset of threshold behaviour in current-voltage characteristics of the two-dimensional electron system and a resonant radio-frequency absorption; the latter are quantitatively accounted for by a model of crystalline electronic structure broken up into domains. Preliminary mK transport experiments in intense, pulsed magnetic fields are also described, which establish a basis to access the electron solid phase transition in a hitherto unattainable region of the (B, T) plane. © 1991

Towards a unified approach for the analysis of failure modes in FRP-retrofitted concrete beams

The application of the external reinforcement makes rather complex the scenario of the possible failure modes in reinforced concrete beams retrofitted with FRP. The far more commonly observed failure modes are: (i) edge debonding of the FRP sheet, (ii) intermediate crack induced debonding and (iii) beam failure due to diagonal (shear) crack propagation. In the present study we revisited the competition between all the possible failure modes that can occur in this structural element. To this aim, different analytical models based on linear and non-linear fracture mechanics are developed and harmonized. As a result, useful failure maps are analytically determined, giving, for each failure mode, the critical load of activation as a function of the main parameters governing the problem, i.e. the mechanical properties of the constituent materials, the amount of reinforcement and its bonding length, as well as the size and slenderness of the structural element. The studies presented in this paper are mainly intended to establish guidelines for the future development of these concepts towards a unified mathematical approach. Indeed, once the validity of this unified approach is confirmed, also by comparison with further experimental data, it will be possible to remove some of the simplifying assumptions we used in this analysis to reach a more comprehensive analytical formulation

Microwave spectroscopy of the low-filling-factor bilayer electron solid in a wide quantum well

At the low Landau filling factor termination of the fractional quantum Hall effect series, two-dimensional electron systems exhibit an insulating phase that is understood as a form of pinned Wigner solid. Here we use microwave spectroscopy to probe the transition to the insulator for a wide quantum well sample that can support single-layer or bilayer states depending on its overall carrier density. We find that the insulator exhibits a resonance which is characteristic of a bilayer solid. The resonance also reveals a pair of transitions within the solid, which are not accessible to dc transport measurements. As density is biased deeper into the bilayer solid regime, the resonance grows in specific intensity, and the transitions within the insulator disappear. These behaviours are suggestive of a picture of the insulating phase as an emulsion of liquid and solid components