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NORDITA-1999/36 CM

Broken Symmetries in the Reconstruction of

$`\nu =1`$ Quantum Hall Edges

S.M. Reimann, M. Koskinen, S. Viefers<sup>(∗)</sup>, M. Manninen and B. Mottelson<sup>(∗)</sup>

University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä

<sup>(∗)</sup> NORDITA, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen

Abstract

> Spin-polarized reconstruction of the $`\nu =1`$ quantum Hall edge is accompanied by a spatial modulation of the charge density along the edge. We find that this is also the case for finite quantum Hall droplets: current spin density functional calculations show that the so-called Chamon-Wen edge forms a ring of apparently localized electrons around the maximum density droplet (MDD). The boundaries of these different phases qualitatively agree with recent experiments. For very soft confinement, Chern-Simons Ginzburg-Landau theory indicates formation of a non-translational invariant edge with vortices (holes) trapped in the edge region.
> 
> PACS 73.20.Dx, 73.61.-r, 85.30.Vw, 73.40.Hm

Introduction

Edge states in the quantum Hall regime have been subject to extensive study in recent years. In particular, much interest has focused on how the edge may reconstruct as the confining potential strength is varied (see  and Refs. therein). Various theoretical approaches, including Hartree-Fock methods, density functional theory, composite fermion models and effective (mean field) theories have been used to examine both small electron droplets (quantum dots) and large quantum Hall systems, with and without spin. In particular, many authors have been interested in edge reconstruction of ferromagnetic quantum Hall states, including $`\nu =1`$ and simple fractional (Laughlin) fillings. Softening of the confining edge potential allows charge to move outward, and the edge may reconstruct. How this happens, and whether or not the reconstruction involves spin textures, depends on the relative strength of the electron-electron interactions and the Zeeman energy, and on the steepness of the confining potential. Much work has been based on Hartee-Fock techniques. In 1994, Chamon and Wen found that the sharp $`\nu =1`$ edge of large systems or quantum dots may undergo a polarized reconstruction to a “stripe phase” , in which a lump of electrons becomes separated at a distance $`2l_B`$ away from the original edge ($`l_B=\sqrt{\mathrm{}/eB}`$). This reconstructed state is translation invariant along the edge. Using an effective sigma model and Hartree-Fock techniques Karlhede et al.  then showed that Chamon and Wen’s polarized reconstruction may be preempted by edge spin textures if the Zeeman gap is sufficiently small. Similar results were obtained by Oaknin et al.  for finite quantum Hall droplets. Spin textures are configurations of the spin field in which the spins tilt away from their bulk direction on going across the edge; on going along the edge, they precess about the direction of the external field with some wave vector $`k`$. The edge textures posess a topological density which can be shown to be proportional to the electron density. Thus, one may say that tilting spins moves charge, which is why edge spin textures represent a mechanism for edge reconstruction. Later it turned out , that the Chamon-Wen edge is, in fact, unstable: a polarized reconstruction with a modulated charge density along the edge is always lower in energy than the translation invariant Chamon-Wen edge. Numerical (Hartree-Fock) studies of the ground state, together with an analysis of the softening of low-energy edge modes at weak confining potentials, have resulted in a phase diagram , giving the following picture of the $`\nu =1`$ edge: For very steep confining potentials, the edge is sharp and fully polarized. Upon softening of the confining potential, the edge will either reconstruct into a spin textured state with a translation invariant charge density along the edge (for small Zeeman gaps) or into a polarized charge density wave edge (for large Zeeman gaps). For even softer confining potentials and sufficiently small Zeeman gaps a combination of charge modulation along the edge and spin textures may occur.

Broken-symmetry edge states in quantum dots

The above mentioned phases of edge reconstruction can also occur in finite quantum Hall systems such as quantum dots. The spin-textured edge exists only for sufficiently smooth confinement and small enough Zeeman coupling. We restrict the following discussion to the spin-polarized regime. In a strong enough magnetic field, the electrons fill the lowest Landau level: the so-called maximum density droplet (MDD)  is formed, in which the electrons occupy adjacent orbitals with consecutive angular momentum. The MDD is the finite-size analogue to the bulk $`\nu =1`$ quantum Hall state with an approximately constant density at its maximum value $`(2\pi l_B^2)^1`$. Increasing the magnetic field effectively compresses the electron droplet. At a certain field strength, the dense arrangement of electrons costs too much Coulomb energy. The droplet then takes advantage of moving electrons from lower to higher angular momentum states and re-distributes its density . This, however, may occur together with a breaking of the rotational symmetry in the internal coordinates of the many-body wave function. The self-consistent mean-field solution can show such intrinsic symmetry breaking. The latter implies the occurence of a rotational band which can be obtained by projection. For filling factors around $`\nu =1`$ we apply current spin density functional theory (CSDFT)  to calculate the ground-state densities of $`N`$ parabolically confined electrons, avoiding any spatial symmetry restrictions of the solutions. For the technical details of the calculations, we refer to . An example for the edge reconstruction in finite quantum Hall droplets is shown in the left of Fig. 1 (see next page) for $`N=42`$ electrons. In the ground state the MDD is stable up to a field of about $`2.6`$ T. At about $`2.7`$ T, reconstruction has taken place: at a distance of $`2l_B`$ from the remaining inner (smaller) MDD, a ring of separate lumps of charge density is formed, with each lump containing one electron and having a radius somewhat larger than the magnetic length $`l_B`$. Goldmann and Renn  recently suggested crystallized edge states which appear similar to the reconstructed edges within CSDFT. For still higher fields, the sequential formation of ring-like edges continues until the whole droplet is fully reconstructed . The apparent localization at the edge is accompanied by a narrowing of the corresponding band of single-particle energy levels. The existence of the inner MDD surrounded by the broken-symmetry edge opens up the possibility to observe rotational spectra of the edge. We next study the formation of the MDD and its reconstruction systematically, varying both particle number $`N`$ and magnetic field $`B`$. For fixed $`N`$ we keep the average electron density constant. Changing the field $`B`$ has a similar effect on the reconstruction as varying the softness of the external confinement: a higher field compresses the droplet. At constant strength of the oscillator for fixed particle number, but larger field the confinement then is effectively weaker. We obtain a phase diagram as a function of the number $`N`$ of confined electrons and the field $`B`$, which is schematically shown in Fig. 1. (For more details see ). With increasing $`N`$, the polarization line which separates the fully polarized MDD states from the unpolarized states approaches the reconstruction line. The latter separates the MDD regime from the Chamon-Wen (CW) edge formation. This is schematically indicated by the dashed lines in Fig. 1. Note that the shapes of these phase boundaries differ from the results of Ferconi and Vignale , as they used a fixed confinement strength for different dot sizes. In recent experiments  a phase diagram was obtained from addition energy spectra measured as a function of magnetic field. The phase boundaries qualitatively agree with the results obtained from the CSDFT calculations, if the average electron density is kept constant. Its value determines the magnetic field strength at which the phase transitions occur: Increasing the density shifts the phase boundaries to higher $`B`$-values.

Edge reconstruction within CSGL theory

Turning to filling fractions $`\nu 1`$, we now study the infinite, straight quantum Hall edge within the framework of Chern-Simons Ginzburg-Landau (CSGL) theory . This is an effective (mean field) model of the FQHE, based on the concept of “statistical transmutation”: It models the electrons at $`\nu =1/(2m+1)`$ as bosons, each carrying $`2m+1`$ quanta of (“statistical”) flux; in the mean field sense, this statistical field is cancelled by the external magnetic field, making the $`\nu =1/(2m+1)`$ quantum Hall state equivalent to a system of charged bosons in zero magnetic field. This model has proven quite successful in describing bulk properties of the FQHE. The edge can be studied by solving the CSGL field equations in the presence of an external confining potential. Leinaas and Viefers  recently showed the existence of edge spin textures in this model for soft enough confining potentials and Zeeman energies smaller than some critical value, in qualitative agreement with previous work . Fig. 2 shows such a solution in the limit where the minority spin density is small. As mentioned, the charge density of the spin textured edge is translation invariant along the edge. The CSGL studies  further indicate the possibility of another kind of edge reconstruction, at even softer confining potentials, to a non-translation invariant edge with vortices (holes) trapped in the edge region. Several authors have adressed this type of reconstruction (see  and references therein).

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