We study the ground state of a nematic phase of the two-dimensional electron gas at filling fraction $\nu =1∕2$ using a variational wave function having Jastrow pair correlations of the form ${\Pi }_{i<j}{(z_i-z_j)}^2$ and an elliptical Fermi sea. Using the Fermi-hypernetted-chain approximation, we find that below a critical value of the broken-symmetry parameter, the nematic phase is energetically favorable as compared to the isotropic state for the second excited Landau level. We also find that below a critical value of the layer “thickness” parameter $\lambda$ (and in the actual materials), the quantum nematic is energetically favorable relative to the stripe ordered Wigner crystal phase.

• Received 19 April 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.195433