Electron-beam propagation experiments have been used to determine the energy and angle dependence of electron-electron (ee) scattering a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a very direct manner by a new spectroscopy method. The experimental results are in good agreement with recent theories and provide direct evidence for the differences between ee-scattering in a 2DEG as compared with 3D systems. Most conspicuous is the increased importance of small-angle scattering in a 2D system, resulting in a reduced (but energy-dependent) broadening of the electron beam.
We calculate the spin-Hall conductivity for a two-dimensional electron gas within the self-consistent Born approximation, varying the strength and type of disorder. In the weak disorder limit we find both analytically and numerically a vanishing spin-Hall conductivity even when we allow a momentum dependent scattering. Separating the reactive from the disspative current response, we find the universal value $sigma^R_{sH} = e/8 pi$ for the reactive response, which cancels however with the dissipative part $sigma^D_{sH} = -e/8 pi$.
Electron-electron interactions (EEIs) in 2D van der Waals structures is one of the topics with high current interest in physics. We report the observation of a negative parabolic magnetoresistance (MR) in multilayer 2D semiconductor InSe beyond the low-field weak localization/antilocalization regime, and provide evidence for the EEI origin of this MR behavior. Further, we analyze this negative parabolic MR and other observed quantum transport signatures of EEIs (temperature dependent conductance and Hall coefficient) within the framework of Fermi liquid theory and extract the gate voltage tunable Fermi liquid parameter $F_0^sigma$ which quantifies the electron spin-exchange interaction strength.
Using scanning gate microscopy (SGM), we probe the scattering between a beam of electrons and a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) as a function of the beams injection energy, and distance from the injection point. At low injection energies, we find electrons in the beam scatter by small-angles, as has been previously observed. At high injection energies, we find a surprising result: placing the SGM tip where it back-scatters electrons increases the differential conductance through the system. This effect is explained by a non-equilibrium distribution of electrons in a localized region of 2DEG near the injection point. Our data indicate that the spatial extent of this highly non-equilibrium distribution is within ~1 micrometer of the injection point. We approximate the non-equilibrium region as having an effective temperature that depends linearly upon injection energy.
We have studied experimentally and theoretically the influence of electron-electron collisions on the propagation of electron beams in a two-dimensional electron gas for excess injection energies ranging from zero up to the Fermi energy. We find that the detector signal consists of quasiballistic electrons, which either have not undergone any electron-electron collisions or have only been scattered at small angles. Theoretically, the small-angle scattering exhibits distinct features that can be traced back to the reduced dimensionality of the electron system. A number of nonlinear effects, also related to the two-dimensional character of the system, are discussed. In the simplest situation, the heating of the electron gas by the high-energy part of the beam leads to a weakening of the signal of quasiballistic electrons and to the appearance of thermovoltage. This results in a nonmonotonic dependence of the detector signal on the intensity of the injected beam, as observed experimentally.
We consider the effect of electron correlations on tunneling from a 2D electron layer in a magnetic field parallel to the layer. A tunneling electron can exchange its momentum with other electrons, which leads to an exponential increase of the tunneling rate compared to the single-electron approximation. Explicit results are obtained for a Wigner crystal. They provide a qualitative and quantitative explanation of the data on electrons on helium. We also discuss tunneling in semiconductor heterostructures.