Magneto-gyrotropic effects in semiconductor quantum wells (review)

Magneto-gyrotropic photogalvanic effects in quantum wells are reviewed. We discuss experimental data, results of phenomenological analysis and microscopic models of these effects. The current flow is driven by spin-dependent scattering in low-dimensional structures gyrotropic media resulted in asymmetry of photoexcitation and relaxation processes. Several applications of the effects are also considered.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure

Gravitational Couplings of Intrinsic Spin

The gravitational couplings of intrinsic spin are briefly reviewed. A consequence of the Dirac equation in the exterior gravitational field of a rotating mass is considered in detail, namely, the difference in the energy of a spin-1/2 particle polarized vertically up and down near the surface of a rotating body is $\hbar\Omega\sin\theta$. Here $\theta$ is the latitude and $\Omega = 2GJ/(c^2 R^3)$, where $J$ and $R$ are, respectively, the angular momentum and radius of the body. It seems that this relativistic quantum gravitational effect could be measurable in the foreseeable future.Comment: LaTeX file, no figures, 16 page