Broken symmetry states for two-dimensional electrons in a strong magnetic field

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Abstract
A two-dimensional electron gas in a strong magnetic field and a weak periodic potential is studied in the Hartree-Fock approximation. It is shown that electron-electron interactions favor the formation of a Wigner crystal. This tendency may cause the symmetry of the externally applied potential to be broken, particularly when the area containing one electron is a multiple of the unit-cell area for the external potential. Some predictions are made for the external potential strengths below which symmetry breaking occurs.