Composite boson theory of Hall crystals and their transitions to Wigner crystals

Abstract

We consider the crystallization of a two-dimensional electron system in a perpendicular magnetic field using composite boson theory. There are three possible states to consider: the Hall liquid, the Wigner crystal, and the Hall crystal (a state with both broken translation symmetry and a quantized Hall response). Within composite boson theory, these states map onto a superconductor, a Mott insulator, and a supersolid of composite bosons respectively. We show that when a $\nu = 1$ Hall liquid has a sufficiently soft roton, there is a first order transition to a triangular lattice Hall crystal. If we continue to decrease the roton mass, there is a continuous transition from the Hall crystal to a Wigner crystal. {When the Hall crystal exhibits the integer quantum Hall effect,} this transition {is} described by a free Dirac fermion and, at the critical point, the coupling to the phonons of the crystal is irrelevant, {in the {renormalization group} sense}. We extend this analysis to fractional $\nu = 1/m$ Hall liquids. There, due to kinetic frustration arising from flux attachment, honeycomb lattice Hall crystals are preferred over triangular ones at intermediate interaction strength.