Nonlinear transport of the inhomogeneous Wigner solid in a channel geometry

Abstract

The transport properties of an electronic Wigner solid (WS) on the surface of superfluid helium-4 are investigated in a geometry that allows WS systems of significantly different sizes to be defined. We probe and compare transport phenomena attributed to the electronic order, such as Bragg-Cherenkov scattering and the WS sliding transition, in the cases of a long homogeneous WS, a small WS island, and a long inhomogeneous WS. We find no significant WS size effects on the transport properties, in contrast to predictions of theoretical works, which indicates an absence of long-range order in the WS systems under consideration. For the inhomogeneous WS, consisting of two distinct WSs connected in series, a complex interplay of individual WS transport properties is observed, as revealed in the observation of two separate Bragg-Cherenkov plateaus and WS sliding transitions. A simple model is proposed that provides a qualitative explanation of this behavior.