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Seminar | Materials Science

Symmetry-Protected Luttinger Liquids on the Surface of Quantum Hall Ferromagnets on the Surface of Bi(111)

MSD Seminar

Abstract: Quantum Hall ferromagnets are a unique platform for studying the confluence of the symmetry-broken order parameter and topological physics. Recent experiments observe clear signatures of valley-polarized quantum Hall ferromagnets on the surface of Bi(111) in the presence of strong magnetic fields. The tunneling conductance shows a discrete spectrum indicating the formation of Landau levels while individual nematic Landau level orbits pinned to impurities indicate selective occupation of certain valleys. Further experiments observe domain wall states between such nematic domains. Most curiously, domain walls between these domains appear to host low-energy excitations that appear to be gapped or gapless depending on the filling fraction of the nematic quantum Hall states. We explain these observations both qualitatively and quantitatively by highlighting the role of interactions and symmetries in engendering such exotic Luttinger liquids.