Understanding spin transport from the motion in SU(2)$\times$U(1) fields

Abstract

Starting from a continuum constituted by charged tops, we formulate the classical counterpart of a previously obtained covariant continuity-like equation for the spin current. Such a formulism provides an intuitive picture to elucidate the non-conservation of the spin current and to interpret the condition for the emergence of an infinite spin relaxation time. It also facilitates the discussion on the spin precession in a one-dimensional quantum wire with Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit couplings. Furthermore, we derive the diffusion equations for both the charge and spin densities and find that they couple to each other due to the Zitterbewegung.

6 pages, 4 figures; this is the extended version of Xiv:cond-mat/0608303 to publish in PRB

References in corpus (8)

• Dissipationless Quantum Spin Current at Room Temperature
• Spin current and polarization in impure 2D electron systems with spin-orbit coupling
• Current induced electron spin polarization in strained semiconductors
• On A Proper Definition of Spin Current
• SU(2) Non-Abelian Holonomy and Dissipationless Spin Current in Semiconductors
• Zitterbewegung of electronic wave packets in semiconductor nanostructures
• Transport equations for a two-dimensional electron gas with spin-orbit interaction
• Intrinsic Spin Hall Edges