Controllable Driven Phase Transitions in Fractional Quantum Hall States in Bilayer Graphene

Abstract

Here we report from our theoretical studies that, in biased bilayer graphene, one can induce phase transitions from an incompressible fractional quantum Hall state to a compressible state by tuning the band gap at a given electron density. The nature of such phase transitions is different for weak and strong interlayer coupling. Although for strong coupling more levels interact there is a lesser number of transitions than for the weak coupling case. The intriguing scenario of tunable phase transitions in the fractional quantum Hall states is unique to bilayer graphene and has never before existed in conventional semiconductor systems.