Filled Landau Levels Research Articles

Strange metal to insulator transitions in the lowest Landau level

We study the microscopic model of electrons in the partially-filled lowest Landau level interacting via the Coulomb potential by the diagrammatic theory within the GW approximation. In a wide range of filling fractions and temperatures, we find a homogeneous non-Fermi liquid (nFL) state similar to that found in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model, with logarithmic corrections to the anomalous dimension. In addition, the phase diagram is qualitatively similar to that of SYK: a first-order transition terminating at a critical end-point separates the nFL phase from a band insulator that corresponds to the fully filled Landau level. This critical point, as well as that of the SYK model—whose critical exponents we determine more precisely—are shown to both belong to the Van der Waals universality class. The possibility of a charge density wave (CDW) instability is also investigated, and we find the homogeneous nFL state to extend down to the ground state for fillings 0.2≲ν≲0.8, while a CDW appears outside this range of fillings at sufficiently low temperatures. Our results suggest that the SYK-like nFL state should be a generic feature of the partially filled lowest Landau level at intermediate temperatures. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Multiple Landau level filling for a large magnetic field limit of 2D fermions

Motivated by the quantum hall effect, we study N two dimensional interacting fermions in a large magnetic field limit. We work in a bounded domain, ensuring finite degeneracy of the Landau levels. In our regime, several levels are fully filled and inert: the density in these levels is constant. We derive a limiting mean-field and semi classical description of the physics in the last, partially filled Landau level.

Moving Crystal Phases of a Quantum Wigner Solid in an Ultra-High-Quality 2D Electron System.

In low-disorder, two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs), the fractional quantum Hall states at very small Landau level fillings (ν) terminate in a Wigner solid (WS) phase, where electrons arrange themselves in a periodic array. The WS is typically pinned by the residual disorder sites and manifests an insulating behavior, with nonlinear current-voltage (I-V) and noise characteristics. We report here measurements on an ultralow-disorder, dilute 2DES, confined to a GaAs quantum well. In the ν<1/5 range, superimposed on a highly insulating longitudinal resistance, the 2DES exhibits a developing fractional quantum Hall state at ν=1/7, attesting to its exceptional high quality and dominance of electron-electron interaction in the low filling regime. In the nearby insulating phases, we observe remarkable nonlinear I-V and noise characteristics as a function of increasing current, with current thresholds delineating three distinct phases of the WS: a pinned phase (P1) with very small noise, a second phase (P2) in which dV/dI fluctuates between positive and negative values and is accompanied by very high noise, and a third phase (P3) where dV/dI is nearly constant and small, and noise is about an order of magnitude lower than in P2. In the depinned (P2 and P3) phases, the noise spectrum also reveals well-defined peaks at frequencies that vary linearly with the applied current, suggestive of washboard frequencies. We discuss the data in light of a recent theory that proposes different dynamic phases for a driven WS.

Cascade of Multielectron Bubble Phases in Monolayer Graphene at High Landau Level Filling

Cascade of Multielectron Bubble Phases in Monolayer Graphene at High Landau Level Filling

Broken symmetries and excitation spectra of interacting electrons in partially filled Landau levels

Broken symmetries and excitation spectra of interacting electrons in partially filled Landau levels

Heat Equilibration of Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall Edge Modes in Graphene.

Hole-conjugate states of the fractional quantum Hall effect host counterpropagating edge channels which are thought to exchange charge and energy. These exchanges have been the subject of extensive theoretical and experimental works; in particular, it is yet unclear if the presence of integer quantum Hall edge channels stemming from fully filled Landau levels affects heat equilibration along the edge. In this Letter, we present heat transport measurements in quantum Hall states of graphene demonstrating that the integer channels can strongly equilibrate with the fractional ones, leading to markedly different regimes of quantized heat transport that depend on edge electrostatics. Our results allow for a better comprehension of the complex edge physics in the fractional quantum Hall regime.

Real-space entanglement spectra of parton states in fractional quantum Hall systems

Real-space entanglement spectra (RSES) capture characteristic features of the topological order encoded in the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states. In this work, we numerically compute, using Monte Carlo methods, the RSES and the counting of edge excitations of non-Abelian FQH states constructed using the parton theory. Efficient numerical computation of RSES of parton states is possible, thanks to their product-of-Slater-determinant structure, allowing us to compute the spectra in systems of up to 80 particles. Specifically, we compute the RSES of the parton states $\phi_2^2$, $\phi_2^3$, and $\phi_3^2$, where $\phi_n$ is the wave function of $n$ filled Landau levels, in the ground state as well as in the presence of bulk quasihole states. We then explicitly demonstrate a one-to-one correspondence of RSES of the parton states with representations of the Kac-Moody algebras satisfied by their edge currents. We also show that for the lowest Landau level projected version of these parton states, the spectra match with that obtained from the edge current algebra. We also perform a computation of spectra of the overlap matrices corresponding to the edge excitations of the parton states with a constrained number of particles in the different parton Landau levels. Counting in these matches the individual branches present in RSES, providing insight about how different branches are formed.

Bilayer WSe2 as a natural platform for interlayer exciton condensates in the strong coupling limit.

Exciton condensates (ECs) are macroscopic coherent states arising from condensation of electron-hole pairs1. Bilayer heterostructures, consisting of two-dimensional electron and hole layers separated by a tunnel barrier, provide a versatile platform to realize and study ECs2-4. The tunnel barrier suppresses recombination, yielding long-lived excitons5-10. However, this separation also reduces interlayer Coulomb interactions, limiting the exciton binding strength. Here, we report the observation of ECs in naturally occurring 2H-stacked bilayer WSe2. In this system, the intrinsic spin-valley structure suppresses interlayer tunnelling even when the separation is reduced to the atomic limit, providing access to a previously unattainable regime of strong interlayer coupling. Using capacitance spectroscopy, we investigate magneto-ECs, formed when partially filled Landau levels couple between the layers. We find that the strong-coupling ECs show dramatically different behaviour compared with previous reports, including an unanticipated variation of EC robustness with the orbital number, and find evidence for a transition between two types of low-energy charged excitations. Our results provide a demonstration of tuning EC properties by varying the constituent single-particle wavefunctions.

Correlated States of 2D Electrons near the Landau Level Filling ν=1/7.

The ground state of two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) at low Landau level filling factors (ν≲1/6) has long been a topic of interest and controversy in condensed matter. Following the recent breakthrough in the quality of ultrahigh-mobility GaAs 2DESs, we revisit this problem experimentally and investigate the impact of reduced disorder. In a GaAs 2DES sample with density n=6.1×10^{10}/cm^{2} and mobility μ=25×10^{6} cm^{2}/V s, we find a deep minimum in the longitudinal magnetoresistance (R_{xx}) at ν=1/7 when T≃104 mK. There is also a clear sign of a developing minimum in R_{xx} at ν=2/13. While insulating phases are still predominant when ν≲1/6, these minima strongly suggest the existence of fractional quantum Hall states at filling factors that comply with the Jain sequence ν=p/(2mp±1) even in the very low Landau level filling limit. The magnetic-field-dependent activation energies deduced from the relation R_{xx}∝e^{E_{A}/2kT} corroborate this view and imply the presence of pinned Wigner solid states when ν≠p/(2mp±1). Similar results are seen in another sample with a lower density, further generalizing our observations.

Topological charge density waves at half-integer filling of a moiré superlattice

At partial filling of a flat band, strong electronic interactions may favor gapped states harboring emergent topology with quantized Hall conductivity. Emergent topological states have been found in partially filled Landau levels and Hofstadter bands; in both cases, a large magnetic field is required to engineer the underlying flat band. The recent observation of quantum anomalous Hall effects (QAH) in narrow band moir\'e systems has led to the theoretical prediction that such phases may be realized even at zero magnetic field. Here we report the experimental observation of insulators with Chern number $C=1$ in the zero magnetic field limit at $\nu=3/2$ and $7/2$ filling of the moir\'e superlattice unit cell in twisted monolayer-bilayer graphene (tMBG). Our observation of Chern insulators at half-integer values of $\nu$ suggests spontaneous doubling of the superlattice unit cell, in addition to spin- and valley-ferromagnetism. This is confirmed by Hartree-Fock calculations, which find a topological charge density wave ground state at half filling of the underlying $C=2$ band, in which the Berry curvature is evenly partitioned between occupied and unoccupied states. We find the translation symmetry breaking order parameter is evenly distributed across the entire folded superlattice Brillouin zone, suggesting that the system is in the flat band, strongly correlated limit. Our findings show that the interplay of quantum geometry and Coulomb interactions in moir\'e bands allows for topological phases at fractional superlattice filling that spontaneously break time-reversal symmetry, a prerequisite in pursuit of zero magnetic field phases harboring fractional statistics as elementary excitations or bound to lattice dislocations.

Emergence of Dirac composite fermions: Dipole picture

Composite fermions (CFs) are the particles underlying the novel phenomena observed in partially filled Landau levels. Both microscopic wave functions and semi-classical dynamics suggest that a CF is a dipole consisting of an electron and a double $2h/e$ quantum vortex, and its motion is subject to a Berry curvature that is uniformly distributed in the momentum space. Based on the picture, we study the electromagnetic response of composite fermions. We find that the response in the long-wavelength limit has a form identical to that of the Dirac CF theory. To obtain the result, we show that the Berry curvature contributes a half-quantized Hall conductance which, notably, is independent of the filling factor of a Landau level and not altered by the presence of impurities. The latter is because CFs undergo no side-jumps when scattered by quenched impurities in a Landau-level with the particle-hole symmetry. The remainder of the response is from an effective system that has the same Fermi wavevector, effective density, Berry phase, and therefore long-wavelength response to electromagnetic fields as a Dirac CF system. By interpreting the half-quantized Hall conductance as a contribution from a redefined vacuum, we can explicitly show the emergence of a Dirac CF effective description from the dipole picture. We further determine corrections due to electric quadrupoles and magnetic moments of CFs and show deviations from the Dirac CF theory when moving away from the long wavelength limit.

Orthonormal wave functions for periodic fermionic states under an applied magnetic field

We report an infinite number of orthonormal wave functions bases for the quantum problem of a free particle in presence of an applied external magnetic field. Each set of orthonormal wave functions (basis) is labeled by an integer $p$, which is the number of magnetic fluxons trapped in the unit cell. These bases are suitable to describe particles whose probability density is periodic and defines a lattice in position space. The present bases of orthonormal wave functions unveils fractional effects since the number of particles in the unit cell is independent of the number of trapped fluxons. For a single particle under $p$ fluxes in the unit cell, and confined to the lowest Landau level, the probability density vanishes in $p$ points, thus each zero is associated to a fraction $1/p$ of the particle. Remarkably the case of $n+1$ filled Landau levels, hence with a total of $N=(n+1)p$ fermions, $n$ being the highest filled Landau level, the density displays an egg-box pattern with $p^2$ maxima (minima) which means that a $(n+1)/p$ fraction of flux is associated to every one of these maxima (minima). We also consider the case of particles interacting through the magnetic field energy created by their own motion and find an attractive interaction among them in case they are confined to the lowest Landau level ($n=0$). The well-known de Haas-van Alphen oscillations are retrieved within the present orthonormal basis of wave functions thus providing evidence of its correctness.

Experimental Determination of the Energy per Particle in Partially Filled Landau Levels.

We describe an experimental technique to measure the chemical potential μ in atomically thin layered materials with high sensitivity and in the static limit. We apply the technique to a high quality graphene monolayer to map out the evolution of μ with carrier density throughout the N=0 and N=1 Landau levels at high magnetic field. By integrating μ over filling factor ν, we obtain the ground state energy per particle, which can be directly compared to numerical calculations. In the N=0 Landau level, our data show exceptional agreement with numerical calculations over the whole Landau level without adjustable parameters as long as the screening of the Coulomb interaction by the filled Landau levels is accounted for. In the N=1 Landau level, a comparison between experimental and numerical data suggests the importance of valley anisotropic interactions and reveals a possible presence of valley-textured electron solids near odd filling.

Unconventional Zn parton states at ν=7/3 : Role of finite width

A recent work [Balram, Jain, and Barkeshli, Phys. Rev. Res. ${\bf 2}$, 013349 (2020)] has suggested that an unconventional state describing $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ superconductivity of composite bosons, which supports excitations with charge $1/(3n)$ of the electron charge, is energetically better than the Laughlin wave function at $\nu=7/3$ in GaAs systems. All experiments to date, however, are consistent with the latter. To address this discrepancy, we study the effect of finite width on the ground state and predict a phase transition from an unconventional $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ state at small widths to the Laughlin state for widths exceeding $\sim$ 1.5 magnetic lengths. We also determine the parameter region where an unconventional state is stabilized in the one third filled zeroth Landau level in bilayer graphene. The roles of Landau level mixing and spin are also considered.

Spontaneous Valley Polarization of Interacting Carriers in a Monolayer Semiconductor.

We report magnetoabsorption spectroscopy of gated WSe_{2} monolayers in high magnetic fields up to 60T. When doped with a 2D Fermi sea of mobile holes, well-resolved sequences of optical transitions are observed in both σ^{±} circular polarizations, which unambiguously and separately indicate the number of filled Landau levels (LLs) in both K and K^{'} valleys. This reveals the interaction-enhanced valley Zeeman energy, which is found to be highly tunable with hole density p. We exploit this tunability to align the LLs in K and K^{'}, and find that the 2D hole gas becomes unstable against small changes in LL filling and can spontaneously valley polarize. These results cannot be understood within a single-particle picture, highlighting the importance of exchange interactions in determining the ground state of 2D carriers in monolayer semiconductors.

Thermoelectricity in Quantum Hall Corbino Structures

We measure the thermoelectric response of Corbino structures in the quantum Hall effect regime and compare it with a theoretical analysis. The measured thermoelectric voltages are qualitatively and quantitatively simulated based upon the independent measurement of the conductivity indicating that they originate predominantly from the electron diffusion. Electron-phonon interaction does not lead to a phonon-drag contribution in contrast to earlier Hall-bar experiments. This implies a description of the Onsager coefficients on the basis of a single transmission function, from which both thermovoltage and conductivity can be predicted with a single fitting parameter. It furthermore let us predict a figure of merit for the efficiency of thermoelectric cooling which becomes very large for partially filled Landau levels (LL) and high magnetic fieldse of merit can be estimated which becomes very large for partially filled Landau levels and high magnetic fields.

Magnetoplasmons for the α-T3 model with filled Landau levels

Using the α-T3 model, we carried out analytical and numerical calculations for the static and dynamic polarization functions in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. The model involves a parameter α which is the ratio of the hopping strength from an atom at the center of a honeycomb lattice to one of the atoms on the hexagon to the hopping strength around its rim. Our results were employed to determine the longitudinal dielectric function and the magnetoplasmon dispersion relation. The magnetic field splits the continuous valence, conduction and flat energy subband into discrete Landau levels which present significant effects on the polarization function and magnetoplasmon dispersion. This includes the fact that the energies of the Landau levels are valley dependent which leads to different behaviors of the polarization function as the hopping parameter α (or ϕ = tan−1α) is reduced continuously toward zero. This essential critical behavior of the polarization function leads to a softening of a magnetoplasmon mode. We present results for a doped layer in the integer quantum Hall regime for fixed hopping parameter α and various magnetic fields as well as chosen magnetic field and different α in the random phase approximation.

Zn superconductivity of composite bosons and the 7/3 fractional quantum Hall effect

The topological $p$-wave pairing of composite fermions, believed to be responsible for the 5/2 fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), has generated much exciting physics. Motivated by the parton theory of the FQHE, we consider the possibility of a new kind of emergent "superconductivity" in the 1/3 FQHE, which involves condensation of clusters of $n$ composite bosons. From a microscopic perspective, the state is described by the $n\bar{n}111$ parton wave function ${\cal P}_{\rm LLL} \Phi_n\Phi_n^*\Phi_1^3$, where $\Phi_n$ is the wave function of the integer quantum Hall state with $n$ filled Landau levels and ${\cal P}_{\rm LLL}$ is the lowest-Landau-level projection operator. It represents a $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ superconductor of composite bosons, because the factor $\Phi_1^3\sim \prod_{j<k}(z_j-z_k)^3$, where $z_j=x_j-iy_j$ is the coordinate of the $j$th electron, binds three vortices to electrons to convert them into composite bosons, which then condense into the $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ superconducting state $|\Phi_n|^2$. From a field theoretical perspective, this state can be understood by starting with the usual Laughlin theory and gauging a $\mathbb{Z}_n$ subgroup of the $U(1)$ charge conservation symmetry. We find from detailed quantitative calculations that the $2\bar{2}111$ and $3\bar{3}111$ states are at least as plausible as the Laughlin wave function for the exact Coulomb ground state at filling $\nu=7/3$, suggesting that this physics is possibly relevant for the 7/3 FQHE. The $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ order leads to several observable consequences, including quasiparticles with fractionally quantized charges of magnitude $e/(3n)$ and the existence of multiple neutral collective modes. It is interesting that the FQHE may be a promising venue for the realization of exotic $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ superconductivity.

Tuning single-electron charging and interactions between compressible Landau level islands in graphene

Interacting and tunable quantum dots (QDs) have been extensively exploited in condensed matter physics and quantum information science. Using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM), we both create and directly image a new type of coupled QD system in graphene, a highly interacting quantum relativistic system with tunable density. Using detailed scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements, we show that Landau quantization inside a potential well enables novel electron confinement via the incompressible strips between partially filled Landau levels (LLs), forming isolated and concentric LL QDs. By changing the charge density and the magnetic field we can tune continuously between single- and double-concentric LL QD systems within the same potential well. In the concentric QD regime, single-electron charging peaks of the two dots intersect, displaying a characteristic avoidance pattern. At moderate fields, we observe an unconventional avoidance pattern that differs significantly from that observed in capacitively coupled double-QD systems. We find that we can reproduce in detail this anomalous avoidance pattern within the framework of the electrostatic double-QD model by replacing the capacitive interdot coupling with a phenomenological charge-counting system in which charges in the inner concentric dot are counted in the total charge of both islands. The emergence of such strange forms of interdot coupling in a single potential well, together with the ease of producing such charge pockets in graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials, reveals an intriguing testbed for the confinement of 2D electrons in customizable potentials.

Solids of quantum Hall skyrmions in graphene

Partially filled Landau levels host competing orders, with electron solids prevailing close to integer fillings before giving way to fractional quantum Hall liquids as the Landau level fills. Here, we report the observation of an electron solid with noncolinear spin texture in monolayer graphene, consistent with solidification of skyrmions---topological spin textures characterized by quantized electrical charge. In electrical transport, electron solids reveal themselves through a rapid metal-insulator transition in the bulk electrical conductivity as the temperature is lowered, accompanied by the emergence of strongly nonlinear dependence on the applied bias voltage. We probe the spin texture of the solids using a modified Corbino geometry that allows ferromagnetic magnons to be launched and detected. We find that magnon transport is highly efficient when one Landau level is filled ($\nu=1$), consistent with quantum Hall ferromagnetic spin polarization; however, even minimal doping immediately quenches the the magnon signal while leaving the vanishing low-temperature charge conductivity unchanged. Our results can be understood by the formation of a solid of charged skyrmions near $\nu=1$, whose noncolinear spin texture leads to rapid magnon decay. Data near fractional fillings further shows evidence for several fractional skyrmion crystals, suggesting that graphene hosts a vast and highly tunable landscape of coupled spin and charge orders.