Wigner solid pinning modes tuned by fractional quantum Hall states of a nearby layer

Abstract

We study a bilayer system hosting exotic many-body states of two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) in close proximity but isolated from one another by a thin barrier. One 2DES has low electron density and forms a Wigner solid (WS) at high magnetic fields. The other has much higher density and, in the same field exhibits fractional quantum Hall states (FQHSs). The WS manifests microwave resonances which are understood as pinning modes, collective oscillations of the WS within the small but finite ubiquitous disorder. Our measurements reveal a striking evolution of the pinning mode frequencies of the WS layer with the formation of the FQHSs in the nearby layer, evincing a strong coupling between the WS pinning modes and the state of the 2DES in the adjacent layer, mediated by screening.