Textured Edges in Quantum Hall Systems

Abstract

We have investigated the formation of spin textures at the edges of quantum Hall systems for several ferromagnetic filling factors. The textures are driven by the same physics that leads to ``skyrmions'' in the bulk. For hard confinement and large Zeeman energies, the edges are narrow and spin polarized. Away from this limit and for $ν=1/3$, $1/5$ and $1$, we find that they widen by developing spin textures. In contrast, for $ν=3$, the edge remains spin polarized, even as it reconstructs. We comment on the mode structure of the reconstructed edges and on possible experimental signatures.

4 pages (2 columns), Revtex 3.0, 3 figures, better estimate for polarized instability gives narrower range of Zeeman energies for textures (still all physical values), slightly different numbers (changed finite size convention), to appear in PRL