Zeeman spin-orbit coupling in antiferromagnetic conductors

Abstract

This article is a brief review of Zeeman spin-orbit coupling, arising in a low-carrier commensurate N\'eel antiferromagnet subject to magnetic field. The field tends to lift the degeneracy of the electron spectrum. However, a hidden symmetry protects double degeneracy of Bloch eigenstates at special momenta in the Brillouin zone. The effective transverse $g$-factor vanishes at such points, thus acquiring a substantial momentum dependence, which turns a textbook Zeeman term into a spin-orbit coupling. After describing the symmetry underpinnings of the Zeeman spin-orbit coupling, I compare it with its intrinsic counterparts such as Rashba coupling, and then show how Zeeman spin-orbit coupling may survive in the presence of intrinsic spin-orbit coupling. Finally, I outline some of the likely experimental manifestations of Zeeman spin-orbit coupling, and compare it with similar phenomena in other settings such as semiconducting quantum wells.Comment: Review article for the topical issue on Spin-Orbit-Coupled Materials of the Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solid