Broken Symmetry Ground States in \nu=2 Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems

Abstract

We report on a study of a bilayer two-dimensional electron gas at Landau level filling factor $\nu=2$. The system exhibits both magnetic and spontaneous interlayer phase coherence broken symmetries. We propose a 3-parameter Slater determinant variational wavefunction which describes the ground state over the full range of bias potential ($\Delta_V$) Zeeman coupling ($\Delta_z$) and interlayer tunneling amplitude ($\Delta_t$) strengths. Broken symmetry states occur inside a volume in this three-dimensional phase diagram near the $\Delta_z^2=\Delta_V^2+\Delta_t^2$ surface. We have obtained analytic results for the intersections of the phase diagram with the $\Delta_t=0$, $\Delta_z=0$, and $\Delta_V=0$, planes and show that the differential capacitance of the bilayer system is singular at the phase boundary.