Fluctuations and topological transitions of quantum Hall stripes: nematics as anisotropic hexatics

We study fluctuations and topological melting transitions of quantum Hall stripes near half filling of intermediate Landau levels. Taking the stripe state to be an anisotropic Wigner crystal (AWC) allows us to identify the quantum Hall nematic state conjectured in previous studies of the two-dimensional (2D) electron gas as an anisotropic hexatic. The transition temperature from the AWC to the quantum Hall nematic state is explicitly calculated, and a tentative phase diagram for the 2D electron gas near half filling is suggested.