Relativistic response and novel spin-charge plasmon at the Tl/Si(111) surface

Abstract

We present a comprehensive \textit{ab initio} analysis of the spin-charge correlations at the Tl/Si(111) surface, where the spin-orbit interaction is so strong that a detailed treatment of the non-collinear electron spin appears decisive for the correct description of the response properties. The relativistic limit enforces a unified treatment of the spin and charge densities as a four-vector, and the response function acquires then a 4$\times$4 tensor structure. Our all-electron implementation allows to resolve the real space structure of the possible collective modes, and demonstrates the emergence of a novel collective excitation combining transverse-spin and ordinary charge oscillations of a similar order of magnitude, whose spin character is strongly enhanced as we approach the $q$$\to$0 momentum limit.

References in corpus (3)

• Emergent Phenomena Induced by Spin-Orbit Coupling at Surfaces and Interfaces
• Current induced electron spin polarization in strained semiconductors
• Collective modes in two- and three-dimensional electron systems with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Cited by in corpus (4)

• The generalized gradient approximation kernel in time-dependent density functional theory
• Spin-orbit torques and their associated effective fields from gigahertz to terahertz
• Coupled spin and electron-phonon dynamics at the relativistic Tl/Si(111) surface
• Magnetic oscillations induced by phonons in non-magnetic materials