Spectral properties of rotating electrons in quantum dots and their relation to quantum Hall liquids

The exact diagonalization technique is used to study many-particle properties of interacting electrons with spin, confined in a two-dimensional harmonic potential. The single-particle basis is limited to the lowest Landau level. The results are analysed as a function of the total angular momentum of the system. Only at angular momenta corresponding to the filling factors 1, 1/3, 1/5, etc is the system fully polarized. The lowest energy states exhibit spin waves, domains, and localization, depending on the angular momentum. Vortices exist only at excited polarized states. The high angular momentum limit shows localization of electrons and separation of the charge and spin excitations.