Finite-thickness effect and spin polarization of the even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states

TL;DR

This study investigates the spin polarization and finite-thickness effects on even-denominator fractional quantum Hall states in the second Landau level, revealing their likely spin-polarized nature and the influence of sample thickness on energy gaps.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental analysis of the spin polarization of 7/2 FQH state and clarifies the role of finite-thickness effects in these quantum Hall states.

Findings

Both 5/2 and 7/2 states are likely spin-polarized.

Finite-thickness effects influence energy gap behavior.

Other FQH states and RIQH states are also spin-polarized or partially polarized.

Abstract

The spin-polarized even-denominator fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states in the second Landau level (LL), i.e. 5/2 and 7/2, may possess novel quasi-particle excitations obeying non-Abelian statistics. However, the spin polarization of the 7/2 FQH state has not been investigated experimentally and the spin polarization of the 5/2 FQH state from tilted field experiments remains controversial. Using a piezo-driven sample rotator with the lowest electron temperature down to 25 mK, we studied the energy gap of the even-denominator FQH states in the second LL by precise control of the tilted angles with a resolution less than 0.1{\deg}. We observed two different energy gap dependences on the in-plane magnetic field for 5/2, 7/2, other FQH states (7/3 and 8/3) in the second LL and reentrant integer quantum Hall (RIQH) states in the third LL. Though the transition fields vary from states, their corresponding in-plane magnetic lengths are comparable to the quantum well thickness of the sample, which may result from the influence of the finite-thickness effect. At low in-plane magnetic fields, before the conjectured finite-thickness effect starts to dominate, the energy gaps of both 5/2 and 7/2 states show a non-decreasing behavior, supporting spin-polarized ground states. Our results also suggest that the 7/3, 8/3 FQH states, and the RIQH states in the third LL are spin-polarized or partially spin-polarized.