Disorder and interactions in quantum Hall ferromagnets: effects of disorder in Skyrmion physics

Abstract

We present a Hartree–Fock study of the competition between disorder and interactions in quantum Hall ferromagnets near ν=1. We find that the ground state at ν=1 evolves with increasing interaction strength from a quasi-metallic paramagnet, to a partially spin-polarized ferromagnetic Anderson insulator, and to a fully spin-polarized ferromagnet with a charge gap. Away from ν=1, the ground state evolves from a conventional Anderson insulator, to a conventional quasiparticle glass, and finally to a ferromagnetic Skyrmion quasiparticle glass. These different regimes can be measured in low-temperature transport and NMR experiments. We present calculations for the NMR spectra in different disorder regimes.