Scaling of the Rashba spin-orbit torque in magnetic domain walls

Abstract

Spin-orbit torque in magnetic domain walls was investigated by solving the Pauli-Schrödinger equation for the itinerant electrons. The Rashba interaction considered is derived from the violation of inversion symmetry at interfaces between ferromagnets and heavy metals. In equilibrium, the Rashba spin-orbit interaction gives rise to a torque corresponding to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. When there is a current flowing, the spin-orbit torque experienced by the itinerant electrons in short domain walls has both field-like and damping-like components. However, when the domain wall width is increased, the damping-like component, which is the counterpart of the non-adiabatic spin transfer torque, decreases rapidly at the domain wall center. In contrast to the non-adiabatic spin transfer torque, the damping-like spin-orbit torque does not approach to zero far away from the domain wall center, even in the adiabatic limit. The scattering of spin-up and spin-down wave functions, which is caused by the Rashba spin-orbit interaction and the spatial variation of magnetization profile in the domain wall, gives rise to the finite damping-like spin-orbit torque.

17 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Significant Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction at Graphene-Ferromagnet Interfaces due to Rashba-effect
• Controlling Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction via Chirality Dependent Layer Stacking, Insulator Capping and Electric Field
• Current-induced domain wall motion in Rashba spin-orbit system
• Doppler shift picture of the Dzyaloshinskii--Moriya interaction
• A fully relativistic description of spin-orbit torques by means of linear response theory

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Topological damping Rashba spin orbit torque in ballistic magnetic domain walls
• Algebraic decay of the nonadiabaticity arising through chiral spin transfer torque in magnetic domain walls with Rashba spin-orbit interaction