Theory of coupled spin-charge transport due to spin-orbit interaction in inhomogeneous two-dimensional electron liquids

Abstract

Spin-orbit interactions in two-dimensional electron liquids are responsible for many interesting transport phenomena in which particle currents are converted to spin polarizations and spin currents and viceversa. Prime examples are the spin Hall effect, the Edelstein effect, and their inverses. By similar mechanisms it is also possible to partially convert an optically induced electron-hole density wave to a spin density wave and viceversa. In this paper we present a unified theoretical treatment of these effects based on quantum kinetic equations that include not only the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling from the band structure of the host material, but also the spin-orbit coupling due to an external electric field and a random impurity potential. The drift-diffusion equations we derive in the diffusive regime are applicable to a broad variety of experimental situations, both homogeneous and non-homogeneous, and include on equal footing "skew scattering" and "side-jump" from electron-impurity collisions. As a demonstration of the strength and usefulness of the theory we apply it to the study of several effects of current experimental interest: the inverse Edelstein effect, the spin-current swapping effect, and the partial conversion of an electron-hole density wave to a spin density wave in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings, subject to an electric field.

arXiv comment19 pages, 6 figures

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• Theory of current-induced spin polarizations in an electron gas
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• Usadel equation in the presence of intrinsic spin-orbit coupling: A unified theory of magneto-electric effects in normal and superconducting systems
• Spin drift and diffusion in one- and two-subband helical systems
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• Unambiguous Electrical Detection of Spin-Charge Conversion in Lateral Spin-Valves
• Anomalous Nonlocal Resistance and Spin-charge Conversion Mechanisms in Two-Dimensional Metals
• Theory of the inverse spin galvanic effect in quantum wells
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• Magnetically tunable exciton valley coherence in monolayer WS${}_2$ mediated by the electron-hole exchange and exciton-phonon interactions
• Theory of inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect induced by spin pumping into a two-dimensional electron gas
• Magnon spin transport around the compensation magnetic field in easy-plane antiferromagnetic insulators
• A Unified Description of Spin Transport, Weak Antilocalization and Triplet Superconductivity in Systems with Spin-Orbit Coupling
• Spin-charge conversion in disordered two-dimensional electron gases lacking inversion symmetry
• Boltzmann approach to spin-orbit-induced transport in effective quantum theories
• Spin drift-diffusion for two-subband quantum wells
• Theory of spin-charge-coupled transport in proximitized graphene: An SO(5) algebraic approach
• Theory of Spin Injection in Two-dimensional Metals with Proximity-Induced Spin-Orbit Coupling
• Theory of the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect induced by thermal spin injection
• Laser-field detuning assisted optimization of exciton valley dynamics in monolayer WSe${}_2$: Geometric quantum speed limit
• Spin-charge coupled transport in van der Waals systems with random tunneling
• Resonant Edelstein and inverse-Edelstein effects, charge-to-spin conversion, and spin pumping from chiral-spin modes
• Inverse spin galvanic effect in the presence of impurity spin-orbit scattering: a diagrammatic approach