arXiv subjects

Rolf R. Gerhardts

Publications and source records attributed to Rolf R. Gerhardts.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2013

Current-induced asymmetries of incompressible stripes in narrow quantum Hall systems

We present recent experimental results confirming previously predicted strong asymmetries of the current distribution in narrow Hall bars under the conditions of the integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE). Using a previously developed self-consistent screening and transport theory of the IQHE, we investigate how these asymmetries, which are due to a non-linear feedback effect of the imposed current on the electron distribution in the sample, depend on relevant parameters, such as the strength of the imposed current, the magnetic field, the temperature, and the collision broadening of the Landau-quantized energy bands. We find that many aspects of the experimental results can be understood within this approach, whereas other aspects require explicit consideration of mechanism, which enforce the breakdown of the IQHE.

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arXiv2006

Screening Model of Magnetotransport Hysteresis Observed in Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems

We report on theoretical and experimental investigations of a novel hysteresis effect that has been observed on the magnetoresistance of quantum-Hall bilayer systems. Extending to these system a recent approach, based on the Thomas-Fermi-Poisson nonlinear screening theory and a local conductivity model, we are able to explain the hysteresis as being due to screening effects such as the formation of ``incompressible strips'', which hinder the electron density in a layer within the quantum Hall regime to reach its equilibrium distribution.

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arXiv2004

The Interrelation between Incompressible Strips and Quantized Hall Plateaus

We study the current and charge distribution of a two dimensional electron gas under strong perpendicular magnetic fields within the linear response regime. We show within a self-consistent screening theory that incompressible strips with integer values of local Landau-level filling factor exist for finite intervals of the magnetic field strength $B$. Within an essentially local conductivity model, we find that the current density in these $B$ intervals is confined to the incompressible strips of vanishing local longitudinal resistivity. This leads to vanishing longitudinal and exactly quantized Hall resistance, and to a nice agreement of the calculated Hall potential profiles with the measured ones.

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arXiv2004

Incompressible strips in dissipative Hall bars as origin of quantized Hall plateaus

We study the current and charge distribution in a two dimensional electron system, under the conditions of the integer quantized Hall effect, on the basis of a quasi-local transport model, that includes non-linear screening effects on the conductivity via the self-consistently calculated density profile. The existence of ``incompressible strips'' with integer Landau level filling factor is investigated within a Hartree-type approximation, and non-local effects on the conductivity along those strips are simulated by a suitable averaging procedure. This allows us to calculate the Hall and the longitudinal resistance as continuous functions of the magnetic field B, with plateaus of finite widths and the well-known, exactly quantized values. We emphasize the close relation between these plateaus and the existence of incompressible strips, and we show that for B values within these plateaus the potential variation across the Hall bar is very different from that for B values between adjacent plateaus, in agreement with recent experiments.

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arXiv2003

Thomas-Fermi-Poisson theory of screening for latterally confined and unconfined two-dimensional electron systems in strong magnetic fields

We examine within the self-consistent Thomas-Fermi-Poisson approach the low-temperature screening properties of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) subjected to strong perpendicular magnetic fields. Numerical results for the unconfined 2DEG are compared with those for a simplified Hall bar geometry realized by two different confinement models. It is shown that in the strongly non-linear screening limit of zero temperature the total variation of the screened potential is related by simple analytical expressions to the amplitude of an applied harmonic modulation potential and to the strength of the magnetic field.

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arXiv2003

Nonlinear Thomas-Fermi-Poisson theory of screening for a Hall bar under strong magnetic fields

Low-temperature screening properties of the inhomogeneous two-dimensional electron gas in a Hall bar subjected to a strong perpendicular magnetic field are explored using a self-consitent approach. An external oscillating modulation potential with an amplitude of the order of the cyclotron energy is added to the electron-confining background potential, and the resulting change of the self-consistent potential is investigated as a function of modulation strength, magnetic field, and temperature. The consequences of Landau-level pinning and the interplay of compressible and incompressible regions for the resulting strongly non-linear screening phenomena are explained.

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arXiv2002

Self-consistent local-equilibrium model for density profile and distribution of dissipative currents in a Hall bar under strong magnetic fields

Recent spatially resolved measurements of the electrostatic-potential variation across a Hall bar in strong magnetic fields, which revealed a clear correlation between current-carrying strips and incompressible strips expected near the edges of the Hall bar, cannot be understood on the basis of existing equilibrium theories. To explain these experiments, we generalize the Thomas-Fermi--Poisson approach for the self-consistent calculation of electrostatic potential and electron density in {\em total} thermal equilibrium to a {\em local equilibrium} theory that allows to treat finite gradients of the electrochemical potential as driving forces of currents in the presence of dissipation. A conventional conductivity model with small values of the longitudinal conductivity for integer values of the (local) Landau-level filling factor shows that, in apparent agreement with experiment, the current density is localized near incompressible strips, whose location and width in turn depend on the applied current.

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arXiv2001

Guiding center picture of magnetoresistance oscillations in rectangular superlattices

We calculate the magneto-resistivities of a two-dimensional electron gas subjected to a lateral superlattice (LSL) of rectangular symmetry within the guiding-center picture, which approximates the classical electron motion as a rapid cyclotron motion around a slowly drifting guiding center. We explicitly evaluate the velocity auto-correlation function along the trajectories of the guiding centers, which are equipotentials of a magnetic-field dependent effective LSL potential. The existence of closed equipotentials may lead to a suppression of the commensurability oscillations, if the mean free path and the LSL modulation potential are large enough. We present numerical and analytical results for this suppression, which allow, in contrast to previous quantum arguments, a classical explanation of similar suppression effects observed experimentally on square-symmetric LSL. Furthermore, for rectangular LSLs of lower symmetry they lead us to predict a strongly anisotropic resistance tensor, with high- and low-resistance directions which can be interchanged by tuning the externally applied magnetic field.

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arXiv2000

Anisotropic scattering and quantum magnetoresistivities of a periodically modulated 2D electron gas

We calculate the longitudinal conductivities of a two-dimensional noninteracting electron gas in a uniform magnetic field and a lateral electric or magnetic periodic modulation in one spatial direction, in the quantum regime. We consider the effects of the electron-impurity scattering anisotropy through the vertex corrections on the Kubo formula, which are calculated with the Bethe-Salpeter equation, in the self-consistent Born approximation. We find that due to the scattering anisotropy the band conductivity increases, and the scattering conductivities decrease and become anisotropic. Our results are in qualitative agreement with recent experiments.

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arXiv1997

Density modulation and electrostatic self-consistency in a two-dimensional electron gas subject to a periodic quantizing magnetic field

We calculate the single-particle states of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a perpendicular quantizing magnetic field, which is periodic in one direction of the electron layer. We discuss the modulation of the electron density in this system and compare it with that of a 2DEG in a periodic electrostatic potential. We take account of the induced potential within the Hartree approximation, and calculate self-consistently the density fluctuations and effective energy bands. The electrostatic effects on the spectrum depend strongly on the temperature and on the ratio between the cyclotron radius $R_c$ and the length scale $a_{δρ}$ of the density variations. We find that $a_{δρ}$ can be equal to the modulation period $a$, but also much smaller. For $R_c \sim a_{δρ}$ the spectrum in the vicinity of the chemical potential remains essentially the same as in the noninteracting system, while for $R_c \ll a_{δρ}$ it may be drastically changed by the Hartree potential: For noninteger filling factors the energy dispersion is reduced, like in the case of an electrostatic modulation, whereas for even-integer filling factors, on the contrary, the dispersion may be amplified.

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arXiv1997

Magnetoresistance of a two-dimensional electron gas with spatially periodic lateral modulations: Exact consequences of Boltzmann's equation

On the basis of Boltzmann's equation, and including anisotropic scattering in the collision operator, we investigate the effect of one-dimensional superlattices on two-dimensional electron systems. In addition to superlattices defined by static electric and magnetic fields, we consider mobility superlattices describing a spatially modulated density of scattering centers. We prove that magnetic and electric superlattices in $x$-direction affect only the resistivity component $ρ_{xx}$ if the mobility is homogeneous, whereas a mobility lattice in $x$-direction in the absence of electric and magnetic modulations affects only $ρ_{yy}$. Solving Boltzmann's equation numerically, we calculate the positive magnetoresistance in weak magnetic fields and the Weiss oscillations in stronger fields within a unified approach.

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arXiv1997

Coulomb effects on the quantum transport of a two-dimensional electron system in periodic electric and magnetic fields

The magnetoresistivity tensor of an interacting two-dimensional electron system with a lateral and unidirectional electric or magnetic modulation, in a perpendicular quantizing magnetic field, is calculated within the Kubo formalism. The influence of the spin splitting of the Landau bands and of the density of states (DOS) on the internal structure of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations is analyzed. The Coulomb electron - electron interaction is responsible for strong screening and exchange effects and is taken into account in a screened Hartree-Fock approximation, in which the exchange contribution is calculated self-consistently with the DOS at the Fermi level. This approximation describes both the exchange enhancement of the spin splitting and the formation of compressible edge strips, unlike the simpler Hartree and Hartree-Fock approximations, which yield either the one or the other.

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arXiv1996

Coulomb Effects on the Magnetoconductance of a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in a Lateral Superlattice: A Screened Hartree-Fock Calculation

We calculate the magnetoconductivity tensor of a 2D electron gas in a 1D periodic potential and quantising magnetic fields. We study the internal structure of the Shubnikov-de Haas peaks and analyse recent experimental results. The electron-electron interaction is accounted for within a screened Hartree-Fock approximation (HFA), which describes both compressible strips and an exchange-enhanced spin splitting, unlike the Hartree and the standard HFA.

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arXiv1996

Is the Hofstadter energy spectrum observable in far-infrared absorption?

The far-infrared absorption of a periodically modulated two-dimensional electron gas in a perpendicular constant magnetic field is calculated self-consistently within the Hartree approximation. For vanishing modulation the magnetoplasmon dispersion shows simple anticrossings with harmonics of the cyclotron resonance, as expected. For increasing modulation we identify intra- and intersubband magnetoplasmon modes charaterized by the number of flux quanta through each unit cell of the periodic potential.

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arXiv1996

Manifestation of the Hofstadter butterfly in far-infrared absorption

The far-infrared absorption of a two-dimensional electron gas with a square-lattice modulation in a perpendicular constant magnetic field is calculated self-consistently within the Hartree approximation. For strong modulation and short period we obtain intra- and intersubband magnetoplasmon modes reflecting the subbands of the Hofstadter butterfly in two or more Landau bands. The character of the absorption and the correlation of the peaks to the number of flux quanta through each unit cell of the periodic potential depends strongly on the location of the chemical potential with respect to the subbands, or what is the same, on the density of electrons in the system.

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arXiv1996

Hofstadter-type energy spectra in lateral superlattices defined by periodic magnetic and electrostatic fields

We calculate the energy spectrum of an electron moving in a two-dimensional lattice which is defined by an electric potential and an applied perpendicular magnetic field modulated by a periodic surface magnetization. The spatial direction of this magnetization introduces complex phases into the Fourier coefficients of the magnetic field. We investigate the effect of the relative phases between electric and magnetic modulation on band width and internal structure of the Landau levels.

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arXiv1995

Effects of screening on the Hofstadter butterfly

We study, within the Hartree approximation, the effects of the electron-electron interaction on the energy spectrum of a two-dimensional electron gas in a perpendicular homogeneous magnetic field and a lateral superlattice potential with square symmetry. Due to the strong screening effects, the bandwidth of the Landau bands oscillates strongly with their filling. For short enough periods and strong enough modulation of the superlattice potential, the miniband structure of the Landau bands can be resolved in the thermodynamic density of states.

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arXiv1995

The Hofstadter Energy Spectrum for an Interacting 2DEG

We study the effects of the Coulomb interactions between electrons on the Hofstadter butterfly, which characterizes the subband structure of the Landau levels of a two-dimensional electron gas in a perpendicular homogeneous magnetic field and a periodic lateral superlattice potential. The interactions essentially preserve the intricate gap structure of the Hofstadter spectra, but with a lower symmetry that depends on the filling of the Landau bands. For short enough periods and strong enough modulation the miniband structure can be resolved in the thermodynamic density of states.

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