Effect of lattice distortion on spin admixture and quantum transport in organic devices with spin–orbit coupling

With an extended Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model and Green's function method, the spin–orbit coupling(SOC) effects on spin admixture of electronic states and quantum transport in organic devices are investigated. The role of lattice distortion induced by the strong electron–lattice interaction in organics is clarified in contrast with a uniform chain. The results demonstrate an enhanced SOC effect on the spin admixture of frontier eigenstates by the lattice distortion at a larger SOC,which is explained by the perturbation theory. The quantum transport under the SOC is calculated for both nonmagnetic and ferromagnetic electrodes. A more notable SOC effect on total transmission and current is observed for ferromagnetic electrodes, where spin filtering induced by spin-flipped transmission and suppression of magnetoresistance are obtained.Unlike the spin admixture, a stronger SOC effect on transmission exists for the uniform chain rather than the organic lattices with distortion. The reason is attributed to the modified spin-polarized conducting states in the electrodes by lattice configuration, and hence the spin-flip transmission, instead of the spin admixture of eigenstates. This work is helpful to understand the SOC effect in organic spin valves in the presence of lattice distortion.

Ab initio nonadiabatic molecular dynamics study on spin–orbit coupling induced spin dynamics in ferromagnetic metals

Understanding the photoexcitation induced spin dynamics in ferromagnetic metals is important for the design of photo-controlled ultrafast spintronic device.In this work,by the ab initio nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulation,we have studied the spin dynamics induced by spin–orbit coupling(SOC)in Co and Fe using both spin-diabatic and spin-adiabatic representations.In Co system,it is found that the Fermi surface(E_(F))is predominantly contributed by the spin-minority states.The SOC induced spin flip will occur for the photo-excited spin-majority electrons as they relax to the E_(F),and the spin-minority electrons tend to relax to the EFwith the same spin through the electron–phonon coupling(EPC).The reduction of spin-majority electrons and the increase of spin-minority electrons lead to demagnetization of Co within100 fs.By contrast,in Fe system,the E_(F) is dominated by the spin-majority states.In this case,the SOC induced spin flip occurs for the photo-excited spin-minority electrons,which leads to a magnetization enhancement.If we move the E_(F) of Fe to higher energy by 0.6eV,the E_(F) will be contributed by the spin-minority states and the demagnetization will be observed again.This work provides a new perspective for understanding the SOC induced spin dynamics mechanism in magnetic metal systems.

Rashba spin-orbit coupling induced rectified currents in monolayer graphene with exchange field and sublattice potential

We investigate the effect of Rashba spin-orbit coupling(RSOC)on photoconductivities of rectified currents in monolayer graphene with exchange field and sublattice potential.The system shows that the photoconductivities of resonant shift and injection current contributions are nonzero,while the photoconductivities of non-resonant shift current contribution are zero.We find that the RSOC induces a warping term,which leads to the nonzero rectified currents.Moreover,the photoconductivities of resonant injection(shift)current contribution are(not)related to the relaxation rate.The similar behavior can be found in other Dirac materials,and our findings provide a way to tune the nonlinear transport properties of Dirac materials.

Characteristics of anomalous Hall effect in spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gases in the presence of both intrinsic,extrinsic,and external electric-field induced spin-orbit couplings

The various competing contributions to the anomalous Hall effect in spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gases in the presence of both intrinsic, extrinsic and external electric-field induced spin-orbit coupling were investigated theoretically. Based on a unified semiclassical theoretical approach, it is shown that the total anomalous Hall conductivity can be expressed as the sum of three distinct contributions in the presence of these competing spin-orbit interactions, namely an intrinsic contribution determined by the Berry curvature in the momentum space, an extrinsic contribution determined by the modified Bloch band group velocity and an extrinsic contribution determined by spin-orbit-dependent impurity scattering. The characteristics of these competing contributions are discussed in detail in the paper.

Field-assisted electron transport through a symmetric double-well structure with spin-orbit coupling and the Fano-resonance induced spin filtering

We have investigated theoretically the field-driven electron-transport through a double-quantum-well semiconductor-heterostructure with spin-orbit coupling. The numerical results demonstrate that the transmission spectra are divided into two sets due to the bound-state level-splitting and each set contains two asymmetric resonance peaks which may be selectively suppressed by changing the difference in phase between two driving fields. When the phase difference changes from 0 to π, the dip of asymmetric resonance shifts from one side of resonance peak to the other side and the asymmetric Fano resonance degenerates into the symmetric Breit-Wigner resonance at a critical value of phase difference. Within a given range of incident electron energy, the spin polarization of transmission current is completely governed by the phase difference which may be used to realize the tunable spin filtering.

Spin current and its heat effect in a multichannel quantum wire with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Using the perturbation method, we theoretically study the spin current and its heat effect in a multichannel quantum wire with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The heat generated by the spin current is calculated. With the increase of the width of the quantum wire, the spin current and the heat generated both exhibit period oscillations with equal amplitudes. When the quantum-channel number is doubled, the oscillation periods of the spin current and of the heat generated both decrease by a factor of 2. For the spin current js,xy, the amplitude increases with the decrease of the quantum channel; while the amplitude of the spin current js,yx remains the same. Therefore we conclude that the effect of the quantum-channel number on the spin current js,xy is greater than that on the spin current js,yx. The strength of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling is tunable by the gate voltage, and the gate voltage can be varied experimentally, which implies a new method of detecting the. spin current. In addition, we can control the amplitude and the oscillation period of the spin current by controlling the number of the quantum channels. All these characteristics of the spin current will be very important for detecting and controlling the spin current, and especially for designing new spintronic devices in the future.

Electron resonance-transmission through a driven quantum well with spin-orbit coupling

We have studied the spin-dependent electron transmission through a quantum well driven by both dipole-type and homogeneous oscillating fields. The numerical evaluations show that Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling induces the splitting of asymmetric Fano-type resonance peaks in the conductivity, in which the dipole modulation and the homogeneous modulation are equivalent. Therefore, we predict that the dipole-type oscillation, which is more practical in the experimental setup, can be used to realize the tunable spin filters by adjusting the field oscillation-frequency and the amplitude as well.

Finite size effects on helical edge states in HgTe quantum wells with the spin orbit coupling due to bulk- and structure-inversion asymmetries

There is a quantum spin Hall state in the inverted HgTe quantum well, characterized by the topologically protected gapless helical edge states lying within the bulk gap. It has been found that for a strip of finite width, the edge states on the two sides can couple together to produce a gap in the spectrum. The phenomenon is called the finite size effect in quantum spin Hall systems. In this paper, we investigate the effects of the spin-orbit coupling due to bulk- and structure-inversion asymmetries on the finite size effect in the HgTe quantum well by means of the numerical diagonalization method. When the bulk-inversion asymmetry is taken into account, it is shown that the energy gap Eg of the edge states due to the finite size effect features an oscillating exponential decay as a function of the strip width of the HgTe quantum well. The origin of this oscillatory pattern on the exponential decay is explained. Furthermore, if the bulk- and structure-inversion asymmetries are considered simultaneously, the structure-inversion asymmetry will induce a shift of the energy gap Eg closing point. Finally, based on the roles of the bulk- and structure-inversion asymmetries on the finite size effects, a way to realize the quantum spin Hall field effect transistor is proposed.

Tunable ground-state solitons in spin–orbit coupling Bose–Einstein condensates in the presence of optical lattices

Properties of the ground-state solitons, which exist in the spin-orbit coupling （SOC） Bose-Einstein condensates （BEC） in the presence of optical lattices, are presented. Results show that several system parameters, such as SOC strength, lattice depth, and lattice frequency, have important influences on properties of ground state solitons in SOC BEC. By controlling these parameters, structure and spin polarization of the ground-state solitons can be effectively tuned, so ma- nipulation of atoms may be realized.

A pure spin-current injector of semiconductor quantum dots with Andreev reflection and Rashba spin-orbit coupling

We propose a four-terminal device consisting of two parallel quantum dots with Rashba spin-orbit interaction （RSOI）, coupled to two side superconductor leads and two common ferromagnetic leads, respectively. The two ferromagnetic leads and two quantum dots form a ring threaded by Aharonov-Bohm （AB） flux. This device possesses normal quasiparticle transmission between the two ferromagnetic leads, and normal and crossed Andreev reflections providing conductive holes. For the appropriate spin polarization of the ferromagnetic leads, RSOI and AB flux, the pure spin-up （or spin-down） current without net charge current in the right lead, which is due to the equal numbers of electrons and holes with the same spin-polarization moving along the same direction, can be obtained by adjusting the gate voltage, which may be used in practice as a pure spin-current injector.

Transport properties in a multi-terminal regular polygonal quantum ring with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Transport properties in a multi-terminal regular polygonal quantum ring with Rashba spin-orbit coupling （SOC） are investigated analytically using quantum networks and the transport matrix metLod. The results show that conduc- tances remain at exactly the same values when the output leads are located at axisymmetric positions. However, for the nonaxisymmetrical case, there is a phase difference between the upper and lower arm, which leads to zero conductances appearing periodically. An isotropy of the conductance is destroyed by the Rashba SOC effect in the axisymmetric case. In addition, the position of zero conductance is regulated with the strength of the Rashba SOC.

Spin transport in a chain of polygonal quantum rings with Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling

Using a transfer matrix method, we investigate spin transport through a chain of polygonal rings with Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling（DSOC）. The spin conductance is dependent on the number of sides in the polygons. When DSOC is considered in a chain which also has Rashba spin-orbit coupling（RSOC） of the same magnitude, the total conductance is the same as that for the same chain with no SOC. However, when the two types of SOC have different values, there results a unique anisotropic conductance.

Numerical simulation study on spin resonant depolarization due to spin-orbit coupling

The spin polarization phenomenon in lepton circular accelerators had been known for many years. It provides a new approach for physicists to study the spin feature of fundamental particles and the dynamics of spin-orbit coupling, such as spin resonances. We use numerical simulation to study the features of spin under the modulation of orbital motion in an electron storage ring. The various cases of depolarization due to spin-orbit coupling through an emitting photon and misalignment of magnets in the ring are discussed.

Influence of spin-orbit coupling induced by in-plane external electric field on the intrinsic spin-Hall effect in a Rashba two-dimensional electron gas

We study theoretically the influence of spin-orbit coupling induced by in-plane external electric field on the intrinsic spin-Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We show that, after such an influence is taken into account, the static intrinsic spin-Hall effect can be stabilized in a disordered Rashba twodimensional electron gas, and the static intrinsic spin-Hall conductivity shall exhibit some interesting characteristics as conceived in some original theoretical proposals.

Influence of Rashba spin–orbit coupling on Josephson effect in triplet superconductor/two-dimensional semiconductor/triplet superconductor junctions

We study theoretically Josephson effect in a planar ballistic junction between two triplet superconductors with pwave orbital symmetries and separated by a two-dimensional(2D)semiconductor channel with strong Rashba spin–orbit coupling.In triplet superconductors,three types of orbital symmetries are considered.We use Bogoliubov–de Gennes formalism to describe quasiparticle propagations through the junction and the supercurrents are calculated in terms of Andreev reflection coefficients.The features of the variation of the supercurrents with the change of the strength of Rashba spin–orbit coupling are investigated in some detail.It is found that for the three types of orbital symmetries considered,both the magnitudes of supercurrent and the current-phase relations can be manipulated effectively by tuning the strength of Rashba spin–orbit coupling.The interplay of Rashba spin–orbit coupling and Zeeman magnetic field on supercurrent is also investigated in some detail.

Persistent Spin Current in a Hard-Wall Confining Quantum Wire with Weak Dresselhaus Spin-Orbit Coupling

我们理论上调查在有联合的弱 Dresselhaus 纺纱轨道的一根量电线中的电流连接了到二正常导体的旋转。量电线和售票员被一个难墙的限制潜力描述。用在量电线和旋转电流的一个新定义中的电子波浪功能，我们计算了线性旋转电流密度 j s ， x i T 和 j s ， yi T ( i = x ， y ，z)。我们发现元素 j T s ， x x 和 j T s ， yy 有反对称的关系和元素 j T s ， yz 作为 j s ， x x T 和 j s ， yy T 。我们也发现一张网线性旋转电流密度，它在量电线的中心有山峰。线性旋转电流能导致的网一个线性电场，它可以暗示旋转电流的一个方法察觉。

Inverse Spin Hall Effect in Two-Terminal Device with Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling

We report a theoretic study on the inverse spin-Hall effect(ISHE)in a two-terminal nano-device thatconsists of a two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG)with Rashba spin-orbit coupling(RSOC)and two ideal leads.Basedon a two-site toy model and Keldysh Green's function method,we derive an analytic result of ISHE,which showsclearly that a nonzero transverse charge current stems from the combined effect of the RSOC,the spin bias,and its spinpolarization direction in spin space.Our further numerical calculations in a larger system other than two-site latticemodel demonstrate that the transverse charge current,dependent on the strength of the RSOC,the Fermi energy of thesystem,as well as the system size,can exhibit oscillating behavior and even reverse its sign due to Rashba spin precession.These properties may be helpful for efficient detection of the spin current(spin bias)by measuring the transverse chargecurrent in a spin-orbital coupling system.

The effect of k-cubic Dresselhaus spin orbit coupling on the decay time of persistent spin helix states in semiconductor two-dimensional electron gases

We study the theoretical effect of k-cubic （i.e, cubic-in-momentum） Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling on the decay time of persistent spin helix states in semiconductor two-dimensional electron gases. We show that the decay time of persistent spin helix states may be suppressed substantially by k-cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling, and after taking the effect of k-cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction into account, the theoretical results obtained accord both qualitatively and quantitatively with other recent experimental results.

Spin-dependent electron transport of a waveguide with Rashba spin-orbit coupling in an electromagnetic field

We investigate theoretically the spin-dependent electron transport in a straight waveguide with Rashba spin-orbit coupling （SOC） under the irradiation of a transversely polarized electromagnetic （EM） field. Spin-dependent electron conductance and spin polarization are calculated as functions of the emitting energy of electrons or the strength of the EM field by adopting the mode matching approach. It is shown that the spin polarization can be manipulated by external parameters when the strength of Rashba SOC is strong. Furthermore, a sharp step structure is found to exist in the total electron conductance. These results can he understood by the nontrivial Rashba subbands intermixing and the electron intersubband transition when a finite-range transversely polarized EM field irradiates a straight waveguide.