9,240 research outputs found
Side-jumps in the spin-Hall effect: construction of the Boltzmann collision integral
We present a systematic derivation of the side-jump contribution to the
spin-Hall current in systems without band structure spin-orbit interactions,
focusing on the construction of the collision integral for the Boltzmann
equation. Starting from the quantum Liouville equation for the density operator
we derive an equation describing the dynamics of the density matrix in the
first Born approximation and to first order in the driving electric field.
Elastic scattering requires conservation of the total energy, including the
spin-orbit interaction energy with the electric field: this results in a first
correction to the customary collision integral found in the Born approximation.
A second correction is due to the change in the carrier position during
collisions. It stems from the part of the density matrix off-diagonal in wave
vector. The two corrections to the collision integral add up and are
responsible for the total side-jump contribution to the spin-Hall current. The
spin-orbit-induced correction to the velocity operator also contains terms
diagonal and off-diagonal in momentum space, which together involve the total
force acting on the system. This force is explicitly shown to vanish (on the
average) in the steady state: thus the total contribution to the spin-Hall
current due to the additional terms in the velocity operator is zero.Comment: Added references, expanded discussion, revised introductio
Experimental observation of the spin-Hall effect in a two dimensional spin-orbit coupled semiconductor system
We report the experimental observation of the spin-Hall effect in a
two-dimensional (2D) hole system with Rashba spin-orbit coupling.
The 2D hole layer is a part of a p-n junction light-emitting diode with a
specially designed co-planar geometry which allows an angle-resolved
polarization detection at opposite edges of the 2D hole system. In equilibrium
the angular momenta of the Rashba split heavy hole states lie in the plane of
the 2D layer. When an electric field is applied across the hole channel a non
zero out-of-plane component of the angular momentum is detected whose sign
depends on the sign of the electric field and is opposite for the two edges.
Microscopic quantum transport calculations show only a weak effect of disorder
suggesting that the clean limit spin-Hall conductance description (intrinsic
spin-Hall effect) might apply to our system.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, paper based on work presented at the Gordon
Research Conference on Magnetic Nano-structures (August 2004) and Oxford Kobe
Seminar on Spintronics (September 2004); accepted for publication in Physical
Review Letters December 200
Anomalous Rashba spin splitting in two-dimensional hole systems
It has long been assumed that the inversion asymmetry-induced Rashba spin
splitting in two-dimensional (2D) systems at zero magnetic field is
proportional to the electric field that characterizes the inversion asymmetry
of the confining potential. Here we demonstrate, both theoretically and
experimentally, that 2D heavy hole systems in accumulation layer-like single
heterostructures show the opposite behavior, i.e., a decreasing, but nonzero
electric field results in an increasing Rashba coefficient.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Anomalous Spin Polarization of GaAs Two-Dimensional Hole Systems
We report measurements and calculations of the spin-subband depopulation,
induced by a parallel magnetic field, of dilute GaAs two-dimensional (2D) hole
systems. The results reveal that the shape of the confining potential
dramatically affects the values of in-plane magnetic field at which the upper
spin subband is depopulated. Most surprisingly, unlike 2D electron systems, the
carrier-carrier interaction in 2D hole systems does not significantly enhance
the spin susceptibility. We interpret our findings using a multipole expansion
of the spin density matrix, and suggest that the suppression of the enhancement
is related to the holes' band structure and effective spin j=3/2.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, substantially extended discussion of result
Invariant expansion for the trigonal band structure of graphene
We present a symmetry analysis of the trigonal band structure in graphene,
elucidating the transformational properties of the underlying basis functions
and the crucial role of time-reversal invariance. Group theory is used to
derive an invariant expansion of the Hamiltonian for electron states near the K
points of the graphene Brillouin zone. Besides yielding the characteristic
k-linear dispersion and higher-order corrections to it, this approach enables
the systematic incorporation of all terms arising from external electric and
magnetic fields, strain, and spin-orbit coupling up to any desired order.
Several new contributions are found, in addition to reproducing results
obtained previously within tight-binding calculations. Physical ramifications
of these new terms are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure; expanded version with more details and additional
result
Anomalous magneto-oscillations in two-dimensional systems
The frequencies of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations have long been used to
measure the unequal population of spin-split two-dimensional subbands in
inversion asymmetric systems. We report self-consistent numerical calculations
and experimental results which indicate that these oscillations are not simply
related to the zero-magnetic-field spin-subband densities.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; changed content (clarifications
The Effect of Spin Splitting on the Metallic Behavior of a Two-Dimensional System
Experiments on a constant-density two-dimensional hole system in a GaAs
quantum well reveal that the metallic behavior observed in the
zero-magnetic-field temperature dependence of the resistivity depends on the
symmetry of the confinement potential and the resulting spin-splitting of the
valence band
Lateral spin-orbit interaction and spin polarization in quantum point contacts
We study ballistic transport through semiconductor quantum point contact
systems under different confinement geometries and applied fields. In
particular, we investigate how the {\em lateral} spin-orbit coupling,
introduced by asymmetric lateral confinement potentials, affects the spin
polarization of the current. We find that even in the absence of external
magnetic fields, a variable {\em non-zero spin polarization} can be obtained by
controlling the asymmetric shape of the confinement potential. These results
suggest a new approach to produce spin polarized electron sources and we study
the dependence of this phenomenon on structural parameters and applied magnetic
fields. This asymmetry-induced polarization provides also a plausible
explanation of our recent observations of a 0.5 conductance plateau (in units
of ) in quantum point contacts made on InAs quantum-well structures.
Although our estimates of the required spin-orbit interaction strength in these
systems do not support this explanation, they likely play a role in the effects
enhanced by electron-electron interactions.Comment: Summited to PRB (2009
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