Comment on "Observation of a Pinning Mode in a Wigner Solid with nu=1/3 Fractional Quantum Hall Excitations"

Abstract

A recent letter [H. Zhu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 126803 (2010)] reports the first measurements of a pinned mode in a Wigner solid at the (electronic) nu = 1/3 fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) filling. The authors suggest that an interpretation of their findings may be found within the interacting composite fermion (ICF) theory. However, to date there is no record reporting crystalline correlations for nu ~ 1/3 obtained from ICF theory, or related theories. We argue that an appropriate interpretation of these findings follows naturally from the rotating-Wigner-molecule approach, which (with inclusion of the rovibrational spectrum of the molecule) encompasses both the crystalline and liquid aspects in the FQHE regime (in particular for nu=1/3, as well as in its neighborhood created by deviations of nu from 1/3, as revealed experimentally).

Clarifications added (footnote [9]). Short comment; 1 page with 1 figure. For related papers, see http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~ph274cy