Statistical properties of the low-temperature conductance peak-heights for Corbino discs in the quantum Hall regime

A recent theory has provided a possible explanation for the ``non-universal scaling'' of the low-temperature conductance (and conductivity) peak-heights of two-dimensional electron systems in the integer and fractional quantum Hall regimes. This explanation is based on the hypothesis that samples which show this behavior contain density inhomogeneities. Theory then relates the non-universal conductance peak-heights to the ``number of alternating percolation clusters'' of a continuum percolation model defined on the spatially-varying local carrier density. We discuss the statistical properties of the number of alternating percolation clusters for Corbino disc samples characterized by random density fluctuations which have a correlation length small compared to the sample size. This allows a determination of the statistical properties of the low-temperature conductance peak-heights of such samples. We focus on a range of filling fraction at the center of the plateau transition for which the percolation model may be considered to be critical. We appeal to conformal invariance of critical percolation and argue that the properties of interest are directly related to the corresponding quantities calculated numerically for bond-percolation on a cylinder. Our results allow a lower bound to be placed on the non-universal conductance peak-heights, and we compare these results with recent experimental measurements.Comment: 7 pages, 4 postscript figures included. Revtex with epsf.tex and multicol.sty. The revised version contains some additional discussion of the theory and slightly improved numerical result

Non-Universal Behavior of Finite Quantum Hall Systems as a Result of Weak Macroscopic Inhomogeneities

We show that, at low temperatures, macroscopic inhomogeneities of the electron density in the interior of a finite sample cause a reduction in the measured conductivity peak heights $\sigma_{xx}^{\rm max}$ compared to the universal values previously predicted for infinite homogeneous samples. This effect is expected to occur for the conductivity peaks measured in standard experimental geometries such as the Hall bar and the Corbino disc. At the lowest temperatures, the decrease in $\sigma_{xx}^{\rm max}(T)$ is found to saturate at values proportional to the difference between the adjacent plateaus in $\sigma_{xy}$, with a prefactor which depends on the particular realization of disorder in the sample. We argue that this provides a possible explanation of the ``non-universal scaling'' of $\sigma_{xx}^{\rm max}$ observed in a number of experiments. We also predict an enhancement of the ``non-local'' resistance due to the macroscopic inhomogeneities. We argue that, in the Hall bar with a sharp edge, the enhanced ``non-local'' resistance and the size corrections to the ``local'' resistance $R_{xx}$ are directly related. Using this relation, we suggest a method by which the finite-size corrections may be eliminated from $R_{xx}$ and $R_{xy}$ in this case.Comment: REVTEX 3.0 file (38 pages) + 5 postscript figures in uuencoded format. Revised version includes an additional figure showing unpublished experimental dat

Universal relation between longitudinal and transverse conductivities in quantum Hall effect

We show that any critical transition region between two adjacent Hall plateaus in either integer or fractional quantum Hall effect is characterized by a universal semi-circle relationship between the longitudinal and transverse conductivities, provided the sample is homogeneous and isotropic on a large scale. This conclusion is demonstrated both for the phase-coherent quantum transport as well as for the incoherent transport.Comment: REVTEX 3.0, 1 figure, 4 pages. SISSA-08179

Resistivity peak values at transition between fractional quantum Hall states

Experimental data available in the literature for peak values of the diagonal resistivity in the transitions between fractional quantum Hall states are compared with the theoretical predictions. It is found that the majority of the peak values are close to the theoretical values for two-dimensional systems with moderate mobilities.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figur

A different view of the quantum Hall plateau-to-plateau transitions

We demonstrate experimentally that the transitions between adjacent integer quantum Hall (QH) states are equivalent to a QH-to-insulator transition occurring in the top Landau level, in the presence of an inert background of the other completely filled Landau levels, each contributing a single unit of quantum conductance, $e^{2}/h$, to the total Hall conductance of the system.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Revtex 3.

Correlation induced switching of local spatial charge distribution in two-level system

We present theoretical investigation of spatial charge distribution in the two-level system with strong Coulomb correlations by means of Heisenberg equations analysis for localized states total electron filling numbers taking into account pair correlations of local electron density. It was found that tunneling current through nanometer scale structure with strongly coupled localized states causes Coulomb correlations induced spatial redistribution of localized charges. Conditions for inverse occupation of two-level system in particular range of applied bias caused by Coulomb correlations have been revealed. We also discuss possibility of charge manipulation in the proposed system.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures Submitted to JETP Letter

Derivative relation for thermopower in the quantum Hall regime

Recently, Tieke et al (to be published in PRL) have observed the relation S_{yx} = alpha B dS_{xx}/dB for the components of the thermopower tensor in the quantum Hall regime, where alpha is a constant and B is the magnetic field. Simon and Halperin (PRL 73, 3278 (1994)) have suggested that an analogous relation observed for the resistivity tensor R_{xx} = \alpha B dR_{xy}/dB can be explained with a model of classical transport in an inhomogeneous medium where the local Hall resistivity is a function of position and the local dissipative resistivity is a small constant. In the present paper, we show that this new thermopower relation can be explained with a similar model.Comment: This paper supercedes cond-mat/9705001 which was withdrawn. 4 pages, Revte

Phase diagram of aggregation of oppositely charged colloids in salty water

Aggregation of two oppositely charged colloids in salty water is studied. We focus on the role of Coulomb interaction in strongly asymmetric systems in which the charge and size of one colloid is much larger than the other one. In the solution, each large colloid (macroion) attracts certain number of oppositely charged small colloids ($Z$-ion) to form a complex. If the concentration ratio of the two colloids is such that complexes are not strongly charged, they condense in a macroscopic aggregate. As a result, the phase diagram in a plane of concentrations of two colloids consists of an aggregation domain sandwiched between two domains of stable solutions of complexes. The aggregation domain has a central part of total aggregation and two wings corresponding to partial aggregation. A quantitative theory of the phase diagram in the presence of monovalent salt is developed. It is shown that as the Debye-H\"{u}ckel screening radius $r_s$ decreases, the aggregation domain grows, but the relative size of the partial aggregation domains becomes much smaller. As an important application of the theory, we consider solutions of long double-helix DNA with strongly charged positive spheres (artificial chromatin). We also consider implications of our theory for in vitro experiments with the natural chromatin. Finally, the effect of different shapes of macroions on the phase diagram is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures. The text is rewritten, but results are not change

Explanation for the Resistivity Law in Quantum Hall System

We consider a 2D electron system in a strong magnetic field, where the local Hall resistivity $\rho_{xy}(\vec r)$ is a function of position and $\rho_{xx}(\vec r)$ is small compared to $\rho_{xy}$. Particularly if the correlations fall off slowly with distance, or if fluctuations exist on several length scales, one finds that the macroscopic longitudinal resistivity $R_{xx}$ is only weakly dependent on $\rho_{xx}$ and is approximately proportional to the magnitude of fluctuations in $\rho_{xy}$. This may provide an explanation of the empirical law $R_{xx} \propto B \frac{dR_{xy}}{dB}$ where $R_{xy}$ is the Hall resistance, and $B$ is the magnetic field.Comment: 11 pages (REVTeX 3.0). Revised Version. Complete postscript file for this paper is available on the World Wide Web at http://cmtw.harvard.edu/~simon/ ; Preprint number HU-CMT-94S0

Relation between Barrier Conductance and Coulomb Blockade Peak Splitting for Tunnel-Coupled Quantum Dots

We study the relation between the barrier conductance and the Coulomb blockade peak splitting for two electrostatically equivalent dots connected by tunneling channels with bandwidths much larger than the dot charging energies. We note that this problem is equivalent to a well-known single-dot problem and present solutions for the relation between peak splitting and barrier conductance in both the weak and strong coupling limits. Results are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental findings of F. R. Waugh et al.Comment: 19 pages (REVTeX 3.0), 3 Postscript figure