Nematic, ferroelectric, quantum Hall states in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides

Rotational and inversion symmetries relate different valleys in the Brillouin zones of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides. When such systems are subject to a perpendicular magnetic field, spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs when the lowest Landau levels are only partially filled. The nematic and/or ferroelectric characteristics of the broken symmetry states make the control and manipulation of the valley and layer degrees of freedom of the ground state possible by additional external fields that break the rotational and/or inversion symmetries.