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Spin glasses; quantum phase transition; ferromagnetism; electron gas

We discuss the possibility of spin-glass order in the vicinity of the unexpected metallic state of the two-dimensional electron gas in zero applied magnetic field. An average ferromagnetic moment may also be present, and the spin-glass order then resides in the plane orthogonal to the ferromagnetic moment. We argue that a quantum transition involving the destruction of the spinglass order in an applied in-plane magnetic field offers a natural explanation of some features of recent magnetoconductance measurements. We present a quantum field theory for such a transition and compute its mean field properties.

Subir Sachdev¹

1. Department of Physics, Yale University, P.O. Box 208120, New Haven, CT - 06520-8120, USA

Published

February 2002