Planar cyclotron motion in unidirectional superlattices defined by strong magnetic and electric fields: Traces of classical orbits in the energy spectrum

TL;DR

This paper compares quantum and classical models of 2D electron motion in strong magnetic and electric fields within superlattices, revealing how classical orbit types correspond to features in the quantum energy spectrum.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis linking classical orbit types to quantum energy spectra in unidirectional superlattices with strong fields.

Findings

Classical channeled and drifting orbits correspond to distinct spectral features.

Energy spectra show complex branches with varying dispersion.

Quantum states can be understood through classical orbit correspondence.

Abstract

We compare the quantum and the classical description of the two-dimensional motion of electrons subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field and a one-dimensional lateral superlattice defined by spatially periodic magnetic and electric fields of large amplitudes. We explain in detail the complicated energy spectra, consisting of superimposed branches of strong and of weak dispersion, by the correspondence between the respective eigenstates and the ``channeled'' and ``drifting'' orbits of the classical description.