Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2008
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Physical Review B
Volume
77
Issue
4
DOI of Original Publication
10.1103/PhysRevB.77.045306
Date of Submission
April 2015
Abstract
A quantum wire with strong Rashba spin-orbit interaction is known to exhibit spatial modulation of spin density along its width owing to coupling between subbands caused by the Rashba interaction. This is known as spin texturing. Here, we show that a transverse external magnetic field introduces additional complex features in spin texturing, some of which reflect the intricate details of the underlying energy dispersion relations of the spin-split subbands. One particularly intriguing feature is a 90° phase shift between the spatial modulations of two orthogonal components of the spin density, which is observed at moderate field strengths and when only the lowest spin-split level is occupied by electrons. Its origin lies in the fact that the Rashba interaction acts as an effective magnetic field whose strength is proportional to the electron’s velocity.
Rights
Upadhyaya, P., Pramanik, S., Bandyopadhyay, S. , et al. Magnetic field effects on spin texturing in a quantum wire with Rashba spin-orbit interaction. Physical Review B, 77, 045306 (2008). Copyright © 2008 American Physical Society.
Is Part Of
VCU Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications
Comments
Originally published by the American Physical Society at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.77.045306