Devil's Staircase in Magnetoresistance of a Periodic Array of Scatterers

Abstract

The nonlinear response to an external electric field is studied for classical non-interacting charged particles under the influence of a uniform magnetic field, a periodic potential, and an effective friction force. We find numerical and analytical evidence that the ratio of transversal to longitudinal resistance forms a Devil's staircase. The staircase is attributed to the dynamical phenomenon of mode-locking.