Radiation induced zero-resistance states in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures: Voltage-current characteristics and intensity dependence at the resistance minima

High mobility two-dimensional electron systems exhibit vanishing resistance over broad magnetic field intervals upon excitation with microwaves, with a characteristic reduction of the resistance with increasing radiation intensity at the resistance minima. Here, we report experimental results examining the voltage - current characteristics, and the resistance at the minima vs. the microwave power. The findings indicate that a non-linear V-I curve in the absence of microwave excitation becomes linearized under irradiation, unlike expectations, and they suggest a similarity between the roles of the radiation intensity and the inverse temperature.Comment: 3 color figures; publishe

An ultra-bright atom laser

We present a novel, ultra-bright atom-laser and ultra-cold thermal atom beam. Using rf-radiation we strongly couple the magnetic hyperfine levels of 87Rb atoms in a magnetically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate. At low rf-frequencies gravity opens a small hole in the trapping potenital and a well collimated, extremely bright atom laser emerges from just below the condensate. As opposed to traditional atom lasers based on weak coupling, this technique allows us to outcouple atoms at an arbitrarily large rate. We demonstrate an increase in flux per atom in the BEC by a factor of sixteen compared to the brightest quasi-continuous atom laser. Furthermore, we produce by two orders of magnitude the coldest thermal atom beam to date (200 nK).Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, supplementary material online at http://www.bec.g

A heuristic quantum theory of the integer quantum Hall effect

Contrary to common belief, the current emitted by a contact embedded in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is quantized in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. This observation suggests a simple, clearly defined model for the quantum current through a Hall device that does not invoke disorder or interactions as the cause of the integer quantum Hall effect (QHE), but is based on a proper quantization of the classical electron drift motion. The theory yields a quantitative description of the breakdown of the QHE at high current densities that is in agreement with experimental data. Furthermore, several of its key points are in line with recent findings of experiments that address the dependency of the QHE on the 2DEG bias voltage, results that are not easily explained within the framework of conventional QHE models.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

The Cyclotron Spin-Flip Mode as the Lowest-Energy Excitation of Unpolarized Integer Quantum Hall States

The cyclotron spin-flip modes of spin unpolarized integer quantum Hall states ($\nu =2,4$) have been studied with inelastic light scattering. The energy of these modes is significantly smaller compared to the bare cyclotron gap. Second order exchange corrections are held responsible for a negative energy contribution and render these modes the lowest energy excitations of unpolarized integer quantum Hall states.Comment: Published: Phys. Rev. B 72, 073304 (2005

Demonstration of a 1/4 cycle phase shift in the radiation-induced oscillatory-magnetoresistance in GaAs/AlGaAs devices

We examine the phase and the period of the radiation-induced oscillatory-magnetoresistance in GaAs/AlGaAs devices utilizing in-situ magnetic field calibration by Electron Spin Resonance of DiPhenyl-Picryl-Hydrazal. The results confirm a $f$-independent 1/4 cycle phase shift with respect to the $hf = j\hbar\omega_{c}$ condition for $j \geq 1$, and they also suggest a small ($\approx$ 2%) reduction in the effective mass ratio, $m^{*}/m$, with respect to the standard value for GaAs/AlGaAs devices.Comment: 4 pages, 4 color figure

Magnetoresistive response of a high mobility 2DES under electromagnetic wave excitation

Oscillations of the resistance observed under electromagnetic wave excitation in the high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs 2DES are examined as a function of the radiation frequency and the power, utilizing an empirical lineshape based on exponentially damped sinusoids. The fit-analysis indicates the resistance oscillation frequency, F, increases with the radiation frequency, n, at the rate dF/dn = 2.37 mTesla/GHz; the damping parameter, a, is approximately independent of n at constant power; and the amplitude, A, of the oscillations grows slowly with the incident power, at a constant temperature and frequency. The lineshape appears to provide a good description of the data.Comment: presented at the 26th International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors, Edinburgh, Scotland, 29 July - 2 August 200

Microwave induced magnetoresistance oscillations at the subharmonics of the cyclotron resonance

The magnetoresistance oscillations, which occur in a two-dimensional electron system exposed to strong microwave radiation when the microwave frequency $\omega$ coincides with the n-th subharmonic of the cyclotron frequency $\omega_c$ have been investigated for n = 2, 3 and 4. It is shown that these subharmonic features can be explained within a non-equilibrium energy distribution function picture without invoking multi-photon absorption processes. The existence of a frequency threshold above which such oscillations disappear lends further support to this explanation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

A New Type of Electron Nuclear-Spin Interaction from Resistively Detected NMR in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect Regime

Two dimensional electron gases in narrow GaAs quantum wells show huge longitudinal resistance (HLR) values at certain fractional filling factors. Applying an RF field with frequencies corresponding to the nuclear spin splittings of {69}Ga, {71}Ga and {75}As leads to a substantial decreases of the HLR establishing a novel type of resistively detected NMR. These resonances are split into four sub lines each. Neither the number of sub lines nor the size of the splitting can be explained by established interaction mechanisms.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure