Anisotropic States of Two-Dimensional Electron Systems in High Landau Levels: Effect of an In-Plane Magnetic Field

M. P. Lilly, K. B. Cooper, J. P. Eisenstein, L. N. Pfeiffer, K. W. West

Published 1999-03-11, updated 1999-03-12Version 2

We report the observation of an acute sensitivity of the anisotropic longitudinal resistivity of two-dimensional electron systems in half-filled high Landau levels to the magnitude and orientation of an in-plane magnetic field. In the third and higher Landau levels, at filling fractions nu=9/2, 11/2, etc., the in-plane field can lead to a striking interchange of the "hard" and "easy" transport directions. In the second Landau level the normally isotropic resistivity and the weak nu=5/2 quantized Hall state are destroyed by a large in-plane field and the transport becomes highly anisotropic.