Composite fermion valley polarization energies: Evidence for particle-hole asymmetry

Abstract

In an ideal two-component two-dimensional electron system, particle-hole symmetry dictates that the fractional quantum Hall states around $\nu = 1/2$ are equivalent to those around $\nu = 3/2$. We demonstrate that composite fermions (CFs) around $\nu = 1/2$ in AlAs possess a valley degree of freedom like their counterparts around $\nu = 3/2$. However, focusing on $\nu = 2/3$ and 4/3, we find that the energy needed to completely valley polarize the CFs around $\nu = 1/2$ is considerably smaller than the corresponding value for CFs around $\nu = 3/2$ thus betraying a particle-hole symmetry breaking.