Competing Charge Density Waves Probed by Nonlinear Transport and Noise in the Second and Third Landau Levels

Abstract

Charge density waves (CDWs) in the second and third Landau levels (LLs) are investigated by both nonlinear electronic transport and noise. The use of a Corbino geometry ensures that only bulk properties are probed, with no contribution from edge states. Sliding transport of CDWs is revealed by narrow band noise in reentrant quantum Hall states R2a and R2c of the second LL, as well as in pinned CDWs of the third LL. Competition between various phases-stripe, pinned CDW, or fractional quantum Hall liquid-in both LLs are clearly revealed by combining noise data with maps of conductivity versus magnetic field and bias voltage.