Scattering theory of spin-orbit active adatoms on graphene

Abstract

The scattering of two-dimensional massless Dirac fermions from local spin-orbit interactions with an origin in dilute concentrations of physisorbed atomic species on graphene is theoretically investigated. The hybridization between graphene and the adatoms' orbitals lifts spin and valley degeneracies of the pristine host material, giving rise to rich spin-orbit coupling mechanisms with features determined by the exact adsorption position on the honeycomb lattice - bridge, hollow or top position - and the adatoms' outer-shell orbital type. Effective graphene-only Hamiltonians are derived from symmetry considerations, while a microscopic tight-binding approach connects effective low-energy couplings and graphene-adatom hybridization parameters. Within the $T$-matrix formalism, a theory for (spin-dependent) scattering events involving graphene's charge carriers, and the spin-orbit active adatoms is developed. Spin currents associated with intravalley and intervalley scattering are found to tend to oppose each other. We establish that under certain conditions, hollow-position adatoms give rise to the spin Hall effect, through skew scattering, while top-position adatoms induce transverse charge currents via trigonal potential scattering. We also identify the critical Fermi energy range where the spin Hall effect is dramatically enhanced, and the associated transverse spin currents can be reversed.

19 pages, 9 figures. Published version: minor text revisions + new references added

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• Microscopic Theory of Spin Relaxation Anisotropy in Graphene with Proximity-Induced Spin-Orbit Coupling
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• Extrinsic Orbital Hall Effect: Orbital Skew Scattering and Crossover Between Diffusive and Intrinsic Orbital Transport
• Impact of complex adatom-induced interactions on quantum spin Hall phases
• Theory of spin-orbit induced spin relaxation in functionalized graphene
• Symmetry-protected coherent transport for diluted vacancies and adatoms in graphene
• Minimal Geometry for Valley Filtering in Graphene
• Crossover to the Anomalous Quantum Regime in the Extrinsic Spin Hall Effect of Graphene
• Modulation of Kekulé adatom ordering due to strain in graphene
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• Spin Hall and inverse spin galvanic effects in graphene with strong interfacial spin-orbit coupling: a quasi-classical Green's function approach
• Theory of spin-charge-coupled transport in proximitized graphene: An SO(5) algebraic approach
• Weak Localisation Driven by Pseudospin-Spin Entanglement
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• Designer spin-orbit superlattices: symmetry-protected Dirac cones and spin Berry curvature in two-dimensional van der Waals metamaterials
• Proximity spin-orbit coupling in graphene on alloyed transition metal dichalcogenides