Anomalous resistance ridges along filling factor nu=4i.

ABSTRACT

We report anomalous structure in the magnetoresistance of SiO(2)/Si(100)/SiO(2) quantum wells. When Landau levels of opposite valleys are driven through coincidence at the Fermi level, the longitudinal resistance displays elevations at filling factors that are integer multiples of 4 (nu=4i) accompanied by suppression on either side of nu=4i. This persists when either the magnetic field or the valley splitting is swept, leading to resistance ridges running along nu=4i. The range of field over which they are observed points to the role of spin degeneracy, which is directly confirmed by their disappearance with the addition of an in-plane magnetic field. The data suggest a new type of many-body effect arising from the combined degeneracy due to the valley and the spin degrees of freedom.