Melting of a 2D Quantum Electron Solid in High Magnetic Field

@misc{citeulike:688588, abstract = {The melting temperature (\$T\_m\$) of a solid is generally determined by the ambient pressure, or indirectly by its density (\$n\$) through the equation of state. This remains true even for helium solids\cite{wilk:67}, where quantum effects often lead to unusual properties\cite{ekim:04}. It is also true for a classical two dimensional (2D) solid formed by electrons\cite{grim:79}, which melts at \$T\_{cm}=e^2\sqrt{n}/(4\pi\epsilon k\_B\Gamma)\$ (where \$\epsilon\$ is the dielectric constant, \$k\_B\$ the Boltzman constant and \$\Gamma\$\$\sim\$130). In this letter we present experimental evidence which shows that for a 2D electron solid formed in a semiconductor sample under a strong perpendicular magnetic field\cite{shay:97} (\$B\$), its \$T\_m\$ is not controlled by \$n\$, but instead by the Landau level filling factor \$\nu\$=\$nh/eB\$. Our finding reflects the \textit{quantum} nature of such 2D electron solids formed in high magnetic fields, and reveals that melting in this case is effectively controlled by the quantum correlation between the electrons. Moreover, the \$T\_m\$ observed is found to increase with the strength of the sample-dependent disorder that pins the electrons.}, author = {Chen, Yong P. and Sambandamurthy, G. and Wang, Z. H. and Lewis, R. M. and Engel, L. W. and Tsui, D. C. and Ye, P. D. and Pfeiffer, L. N. and West, K. W. }, citeulike-article-id = {688588}, eprint = {cond-mat/0604004}, keywords = {jc-condmat}, month = {Mar}, posted-at = {2006-06-07 15:18:34}, priority = {3}, title = {Melting of a 2D Quantum Electron Solid in High Magnetic Field}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0604004}, year = {2006} }

TY - ELEC ID - citeulike:688588 L3 - citeulike-article-id:688588 TI - Melting of a 2D Quantum Electron Solid in High Magnetic Field N2 - The melting temperature ($T_m$) of a solid is generally determined by the ambient pressure, or indirectly by its density ($n$) through the equation of state. This remains true even for helium solids\cite{wilk:67}, where quantum effects often lead to unusual properties\cite{ekim:04}. It is also true for a classical two dimensional (2D) solid formed by electrons\cite{grim:79}, which melts at $T_{cm}=e^2\sqrt{n}/(4\pi\epsilon k_B\Gamma)$ (where $\epsilon$ is the dielectric constant, $k_B$ the Boltzman constant and $\Gamma$$\sim$130). In this letter we present experimental evidence which shows that for a 2D electron solid formed in a semiconductor sample under a strong perpendicular magnetic field\cite{shay:97} ($B$), its $T_m$ is not controlled by $n$, but instead by the Landau level filling factor $\nu$=$nh/eB$. Our finding reflects the \textit{quantum} nature of such 2D electron solids formed in high magnetic fields, and reveals that melting in this case is effectively controlled by the quantum correlation between the electrons. Moreover, the $T_m$ observed is found to increase with the strength of the sample-dependent disorder that pins the electrons. KW - jc-condmat AU - Chen, Yong AU - Sambandamurthy, G AU - Wang, ZH AU - Lewis, RM AU - Engel, LW AU - Tsui, DC AU - Ye, PD AU - Pfeiffer, LN AU - West, KW PY - 2006/Mar/31/ UR - http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0604004 ER -