Edge spin accumulation in a ballistic regime

We consider a mesoscopic {\it ballistic} structure with Rashba spin-orbit splitting of the electron spectrum. The ballistic region is attached to the leads with a voltage applied between them. We calculate the edge spin density which appears in the presence of a charge current through the structure due to the difference in populations of electrons coming from different leads. Combined effect of the boundary scattering and spin precession leads to oscillations of the edge polarization with the envelope function decaying as a power law of the distance from the boundary. The problem is solved with the use of scattering states. The simplicity of the method allows to gain an insight into the underlaying physics. We clarify the role of the unitarity of scattering for the problem of edge spin accumulation. In case of a straight boundary it leads to exact cancellation of all long-wave oscillations of the spin density. As a result, only the Friedel-like spin density oscillations with the momentum 2k_F survive. However, this appears to be rather exceptional case. In general, the smooth spin oscillations with the spin precession length recover, as it happens, e.g., for the wiggly boundary. We demonstrate also, that there is no relation between the spin current in the bulk, which is zero in the considered case, and the edge spin accumulation.Comment: Latex, 6 pages, 2 fig

Microscopic Calculation of Spin Torques in Disordered Ferromagnets

Effects of conduction electrons on magnetization dynamics, represented by spin torques, are calculated microscopically in the first order in spatial gradient and time derivative of magnetization. Special attention is paid to the so-called $\beta$-term and the Gilbert damping, $\alpha$, in the presence of electrons' spin-relaxation processes, which are modeled by quenched magnetic (and spin-orbit) impurities. The obtained results such as $\alpha \ne \beta$ hold for localized as well as itinerant ferromagnetism.Comment: 4 page

Shot noise in a diffusive F-N-F spin valve

Fluctuations of electric current in a spin valve consisting of a diffusive conductor connected to ferromagnetic leads and operated in the giant magnetoresistance regime are studied. It is shown that a new source of fluctuations due to spin-flip scattering enhances strongly shot noise up to a point where the Fano factor approaches the full Poissonian value.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Gauge Field Formulation of Adiabatic Spin Torques

Previous calculation of spin torques for small-amplitude magnetization dynamics around a uniformly magnetized state [J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. {\bf 75} (2006) 113706] is extended here to the case of finite-amplitude dynamics. This is achieved by introducing an `` adiabatic'' spin frame for conduction electrons, and the associated SU(2) gauge field. In particular, the Gilbert damping is shown to arise from the time variation of the spin-relaxation source terms in this new frame, giving a new physical picture of the damping. The present method will allow a `` first-principle'' derivation of spin torques without any assumptions such as rotational symmetry in spin space.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Nonlinear Dynamics in a Magnetic Josephson Junction

We theoretically consider a Josephson junction formed by a ferromagnetic spacer with a strong spin-orbit interaction or a magnetic spin valve, i.e., a bilayer with one static and one free layer. Electron spin transport facilitates a nonlinear dynamical coupling between the magnetic moment and charge current, which consists of normal and superfluid components. By phenomenologically adding reactive and dissipative interactions (guided by structural and Onsager symmetries), we construct magnetic torques and charge pumping, whose microscopic origins are also discussed. A stability analysis of our coupled nonlinear systems generates a rich phase diagram with fixed points, limit cycles, and quasiperiodic states. Our findings reduce to the known phase diagrams for current-biased nonmagnetic Josephson junctions, on the one hand, and spin-torque driven magnetic films, on the other, in the absence of coupling between the magnetic and superconducting order parameters.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Magnetization dynamics with a spin-transfer torque

The magnetization reversal and dynamics of a spin valve pillar, whose lateral size is 64$\times$64 nm$^2$, are studied by using micromagnetic simulation in the presence of spin transfer torque. Spin torques display both characteristics of magnetic damping (or anti-damping) and of an effective magnetic field. For a steady-state current, both M-I and M-H hysteresis loops show unique features, including multiple jumps, unusual plateaus and precessional states. These states originate from the competition between the energy dissipation due to Gilbert damping and the energy accumulation due to the spin torque supplied by the spin current. The magnetic energy oscillates as a function of time even for a steady-state current. For a pulsed current, the minimum width and amplitude of the spin torque for achieving current-driven magnetization reversal are quantitatively determined. The spin torque also shows very interesting thermal activation that is fundamentally different from an ordinary damping effect.Comment: 15 figure

Anatomy of Spin-Transfer Torque

Spin-transfer torques occur in magnetic heterostructures because the transverse component of a spin current that flows from a non-magnet into a ferromagnet is absorbed at the interface. We demonstrate this fact explicitly using free electron models and first principles electronic structure calculations for real material interfaces. Three distinct processes contribute to the absorption: (1) spin-dependent reflection and transmission; (2) rotation of reflected and transmitted spins; and (3) spatial precession of spins in the ferromagnet. When summed over all Fermi surface electrons, these processes reduce the transverse component of the transmitted and reflected spin currents to nearly zero for most systems of interest. Therefore, to a good approximation, the torque on the magnetization is proportional to the transverse piece of the incoming spin current.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Extremely long quasiparticle spin lifetimes in superconducting aluminium using MgO tunnel spin injectors

There has been an intense search in recent years for long-lived spin-polarized carriers for spintronic and quantum-computing devices. Here we report that spin polarized quasi-particles in superconducting aluminum layers have surprisingly long spin-lifetimes, nearly a million times longer than in their normal state. The lifetime is determined from the suppression of the aluminum's superconductivity resulting from the accumulation of spin polarized carriers in the aluminum layer using tunnel spin injectors. A Hanle effect, observed in the presence of small in-plane orthogonal fields, is shown to be quantitatively consistent with the presence of long-lived spin polarized quasi-particles. Our experiments show that the superconducting state can be significantly modified by small electric currents, much smaller than the critical current, which is potentially useful for devices involving superconducting qubits

Shot noise in ferromagnet--normal metal systems

A semiclassical theory of the low frequency shot noise in ferromagnet - normal metal systems is formulated. Non-collinear magnetization directions of the ferromagnetic leads, arbitrary junctions and the elastic and inelastic scattering regimes are considered. The shot noise is governed by a set of mesoscopic parameters that are expressed in terms of the microscopic details of the junctions in the circuit. Explicit results in the case of ballistic, tunnel, and diffusive junctions are evaluated. The shot noise, the current and the Fano factor are calculated for a double barrier ferromagnet - normal metal - ferromagnet system. It is demonstrated that the shot noise can have a non-monotonic behavior as a function of the relative angle between the magnetizations of the ferromagnetic reservoirs.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure