Skyrmions in quantum Hall systems with realistic force laws

We study the charged excitations of quantum Hall systems at integer filling fractions nu = 2n + 1, for a force law that lakes account of the finite width of the electron gas. For typical values of this width, in the limit of vanishing Zeeman energy we find that the low-energy excitations are skyrmions not only at nu = 1 but also at higher filling fractions. Our results lead to the prediction that, in typical samples, abrupt transitions to charged excitations with very large spins should be observable at filling fractions higher than nu = 1 if the Zeeman energy is reduced sufficiently.