Phenomenological understanding of a transport regime with reflection symmetry in the quantum Hall system in a composite-fermion picture

In this paper, we present a phenomenological picture based on the composite fermion theory, in response to the recent discovery by Shahar et al. [Science 274, 589 (1996)] of a transport regime near the transition from a (Formula presented) quantum Hall liquid to a Hall insulator. In this picture, the seemingly unexpected reflection symmetry in the longitudinal resistivity (Formula presented) can be understood clearly as due to the symmetry of the gap excitations which dominate (Formula presented) across the transition, and the abrupt change in (Formula presented) at the transition. The parameter (Formula presented) in the linear fit of (Formula presented) of Shahar et al. is also given a simple physical meaning, and the effective mass can be calculated from (Formula presented) which gives a reasonable value of several-electron band mass. When taking into account the result of network model, the almost invariant Hall resistivity (Formula presented) across the transition is also well understood.