Anomalous nematic-to-stripe phase transition driven by in-plane magnetic fields

Abstract

Anomalous nematic states, recently discovered in ultraclean two-dimensional electron gas, emerge from quantum Hall stripe phases upon further cooling. These states are hallmarked by a local minimum (maximum) in the hard (easy) longitudinal resistance and by an incipient plateau in the Hall resistance in nearly half-filled Landau levels. Here, we demonstrate that a modest in-plane magnetic field, applied either along $⟨110⟩$ or $⟨1\bar{1}0⟩$ crystal axis of GaAs, destroys anomalous nematic states and restores quantum Hall stripe phases aligned along their native $⟨110⟩$ direction. These findings confirm that anomalous nematic states are distinct from other ground states and will assist future theories to identify their origin.

5 pages, 4 figures