Theory of Coulomb driven nematicity in a multi-valley two-dimensional electron gas

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Main Authors: Calvera, Vladimir, Valenti, Agnes, Huber, Sebastian D., Berg, Erez, Kivelson, Steven A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Calvera, Vladimir
Valenti, Agnes
Huber, Sebastian D.
Berg, Erez
Kivelson, Steven A.
author_facet Calvera, Vladimir
Valenti, Agnes
Huber, Sebastian D.
Berg, Erez
Kivelson, Steven A.
contents The properties of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a semiconductor host with two valleys related by an underlying $C_4$ rotational symmetry are studied using Hartree-Fock (HF) and various other many-body approaches. A familiar artifact of the HF approach is a degeneracy between the valley polarized - ``Ising nematic'' - and spin polarized - ferromagnetic - phases, which is inconsistent with recent variational Monte Carlo (VMC) results. Correlation effects, computed either within the random phase approximation (RPA) or the T-matrix approximation, enhance the valley susceptibility relative to the spin susceptibility. Extrapolating the results to finite interaction strength, we find a direct first-order transition from a symmetry-unbroken state to a spin unpolarized Ising nematic fluid with full valley polarization, in qualitative agreement with VMC. The RPA results are also reminiscent of experiments on the corresponding 2DEG in AlAs heterostructures.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_12825
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Theory of Coulomb driven nematicity in a multi-valley two-dimensional electron gas
Calvera, Vladimir
Valenti, Agnes
Huber, Sebastian D.
Berg, Erez
Kivelson, Steven A.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Statistical Mechanics
The properties of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a semiconductor host with two valleys related by an underlying $C_4$ rotational symmetry are studied using Hartree-Fock (HF) and various other many-body approaches. A familiar artifact of the HF approach is a degeneracy between the valley polarized - ``Ising nematic'' - and spin polarized - ferromagnetic - phases, which is inconsistent with recent variational Monte Carlo (VMC) results. Correlation effects, computed either within the random phase approximation (RPA) or the T-matrix approximation, enhance the valley susceptibility relative to the spin susceptibility. Extrapolating the results to finite interaction strength, we find a direct first-order transition from a symmetry-unbroken state to a spin unpolarized Ising nematic fluid with full valley polarization, in qualitative agreement with VMC. The RPA results are also reminiscent of experiments on the corresponding 2DEG in AlAs heterostructures.
title Theory of Coulomb driven nematicity in a multi-valley two-dimensional electron gas
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.12825