Quantum nematic as ground state of a two-dimensional electron gas in a magnetic field

Abstract

We study the ground state of a nematic phase of the two-dimensional electron gas at filling fraction $\ensuremath{\nu}=1∕2$ using a variational wave function having Jastrow pair correlations of the form ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{i<j}{({z}_{i}\ensuremath{-}{z}_{j})}^{2}$ and an elliptical Fermi sea. Using the Fermi-hypernetted-chain approximation, we find that below a critical value of the broken-symmetry parameter, the nematic phase is energetically favorable as compared to the isotropic state for the second excited Landau level. We also find that below a critical value of the layer ``thickness'' parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ (and in the actual materials), the quantum nematic is energetically favorable relative to the stripe ordered Wigner crystal phase.