Onset of Glassy Dynamics in a Two-Dimensional Electron System in Silicon

The time-dependent fluctuations of conductivity sigma have been studied in a two-dimensional electron system in low-mobility, small-size Si inversion layers. The noise power spectrum is ~1/f^{alpha} with alpha exhibiting a sharp jump at a certain electron density n_s=n_g. An enormous increase in the relative variance of sigma is observed as n_s is reduced below n_g, reflecting a dramatic slowing down of the electron dynamics. This is attributed to the freezing of the electron glass. The data strongly suggest that glassy dynamics persists in the metallic phase.