ترغب بنشر مسار تعليمي؟ اضغط هنا

Evidence of Novel Quasiparticles in a Strongly Interacting Two-Dimensional Electron System: Giant Thermopower and Metallic Behaviour

235   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 نشر من قبل Vijay Narayan Dr
 تاريخ النشر 2012
  مجال البحث فيزياء
والبحث باللغة English




اسأل ChatGPT حول البحث

We report thermopower ($S$) and electrical resistivity ($rho_{2DES}$) measurements in low-density (10$^{14}$ m$^{-2}$), mesoscopic two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures at sub-Kelvin temperatures. We observe at temperatures $lesssim$ 0.7 K a linearly growing $S$ as a function of temperature indicating metal-like behaviour. Interestingly this metallicity is not Drude-like, showing several unusual characteristics: i) the magnitude of $S$ exceeds the Mott prediction valid for non-interacting metallic 2DESs at similar carrier densities by over two orders of magnitude; and ii) $rho_{2DES}$ in this regime is two orders of magnitude greater than the quantum of resistance $h/e^2$ and shows very little temperature-dependence. We provide evidence suggesting that these observations arise due to the formation of novel quasiparticles in the 2DES that are not electron-like. Finally, $rho_{2DES}$ and $S$ show an intriguing decoupling in their density-dependence, the latter showing striking oscillations and even sign changes that are completely absent in the resistivity.



قيم البحث

اقرأ أيضاً

We present thermal and electrical transport measurements of low-density (10$^{14}$ m$^{-2}$), mesoscopic two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures at sub-Kelvin temperatures. We find that even in the supposedly strongly localised regime, where the electrical resistivity of the system is two orders of magnitude greater than the quantum of resistance $h/e^2$, the thermopower decreases linearly with temperature indicating metallicity. Remarkably, the magnitude of the thermopower exceeds the predicted value in non-interacting metallic 2DESs at similar carrier densities by over two orders of magnitude. Our results indicate a new quantum state and possibly a novel class of itinerant quasiparticles in dilute 2DESs at low temperatures where the Coulomb interaction plays a pivotal role.
We show that the merging of the spin- and valley-split Landau levels at the chemical potential is an intrinsic property of a strongly-interacting two-dimensional electron system in silicon. Evidence for the level merging is given by available experimental data.
What are the ground states of an interacting, low-density electron system? In the absence of disorder, it has long been expected that as the electron density is lowered, the exchange energy gained by aligning the electron spins should exceed the enha ncement in the kinetic (Fermi) energy, leading to a (Bloch) ferromagnetic transition. At even lower densities, another transition to a (Wigner) solid, an ordered array of electrons, should occur. Experimental access to these regimes, however, has been limited because of the absence of a material platform that supports an electron system with very high-quality (low disorder) and low density simultaneously. Here we explore the ground states of interacting electrons in an exceptionally-clean, two-dimensional electron system confined to a modulation-doped AlAs quantum well. The large electron effective mass in this system allows us to reach very large values of the interaction parameter $r_s$, defined as the ratio of the Coulomb to Fermi energies. As we lower the electron density via gate bias, we find a sequence of phases, qualitatively consistent with the above scenario: a paramagnetic phase at large densities, a spontaneous transition to a ferromagnetic state when $r_s$ surpasses 35, and then a phase with strongly non-linear current-voltage characteristics, suggestive of a pinned Wigner solid, when $r_s$ exceeds $simeq 38$. However, our sample makes a transition to an insulating state at $r_ssimeq 27$, preceding the onset of the spontaneous ferromagnetism, implying that, besides interaction, the role of disorder must also be taken into account in understanding the different phases of a realistic dilute electron system.
Large fluctuations of conductivity with time are observed in a low-mobility two-dimensional electron system in silicon at low electron densities $n_s$ and temperatures. A dramatic increase of the noise power ($propto 1/f^{alpha}$) as $n_s$ is reduced below a certain density $n_g$, and a sharp jump of $alpha$ at $n_sapprox n_g$, are attributed to the freezing of the electron glass at $n_s = n_g$. The data strongly suggest that glassy dynamics persists in the metallic phase.
We argue that the magnetic susceptibility data, Refs. 1-3, for the low-density two-dimensional (2D) silicon-based electron gas indicate that magnetically active electrons are localised in spin-droplets. The droplets exist in both the insulating and m etallic phases, and interact ferromagnetically, forming an effective 2D Heisenberg ferromagnet. Comparing the data with known analytical and numerical results for a 2D Heisenberg ferromagnet, we determine that JS^2 approx 0.6K, where S is the spin of the droplet and J is the ferromagnetic exchange constant between droplets. We further argue that most likely S=1 with four electrons occupying each droplet on average. We discuss the dependence of the magnetic susceptibility and the specific heat on the external magnetic field, which follows from the model, and hence we suggest further experimental tests of the model.
التعليقات
جاري جلب التعليقات جاري جلب التعليقات
سجل دخول لتتمكن من متابعة معايير البحث التي قمت باختيارها
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا