Evidence for a finite temperature phase transition in a bilayer quantum Hall system

TL;DR

This paper provides evidence for a finite temperature phase transition in bilayer quantum Hall systems, showing how interlayer coherence depends on temperature, layer separation, and charge imbalance.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of a finite temperature phase transition in bilayer quantum Hall systems and explores how it varies with physical parameters.

Findings

Finite temperature phase transition separates coherent and incoherent phases.

Transition temperature depends on layer separation and charge imbalance.

Strong evidence for temperature-driven phase change in quantum Hall bilayers.

Abstract

We study the Josephson-like interlayer tunneling signature of the strongly correlated $\nu_T = 1$ quantum Hall phase in bilayer two-dimensional electron systems as a function of the layer separation, temperature and interlayer charge imbalance. Our results offer strong evidence that a finite temperature phase transition separates the interlayer coherent phase from incoherent phases which lack strong interlayer correlations. The transition temperature is dependent on both the layer spacing and charge imbalance between the layers.