Unlocking Transition for Modulated Surfaces and Quantum Hall Stripes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a sine-Gordon model for layered modulated surfaces and stripes, showing they can undergo a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition leading to an unlocked phase with proliferating soliton pairs, relevant to quantum Hall systems.

Contribution

It presents a novel sine-Gordon model capturing the transition dynamics of layered modulated systems and quantum Hall stripes, linking theoretical predictions to experimental anomalies.

Findings

Identification of a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in layered modulated systems.

Prediction of an unlocked phase with soliton-antisoliton proliferation.

Potential explanation for transport anomalies in quantum Hall systems.

Abstract

We develop a sine-Gordon model of layered systems of two-dimensional modulated surfaces and one dimensional stripes, and demonstrate that these systems can undergo a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in which the modulations unlock as a result of thermal or quantum fluctuations, respectively. The unlocked phase is interpreted as an anisotropic crystal in which soliton-antisoliton pairs proliferate. The properties of such a state for modulated stripes in quantum Hall systems and its possible relevance to recent anomalies in transport data are discussed.