Anomalous Nematic States in High Half-Filled Landau Levels

It is well established that the ground states of a two-dimensional electron gas with half-filled high ($N ge 2$) Landau levels are compressible charge-ordered states, known as quantum Hall stripe (QHS) phases. The generic features of QHSs are a maximum (minimum) in a longitudinal resistance $R_{xx}$ ($R_{yy}$) and a non-quantized Hall resistance $R_H$. Here, we report on emergent minima (maxima) in $R_{xx}$ ($R_{yy}$) and plateau-like features in $R_H$ in half-filled $N ge 3$ Landau levels. Remarkably, these unexpected features develop at temperatures considerably lower than the onset temperature of QHSs, suggesting a new ground state.