Theory of the Inverse Faraday Effect due to the Rashba Spin-Oribt Interactions: Roles of Band Dispersions and Fermi Surfaces

Abstract

We theoretically study the inverse Faraday effect, i.e., the optical induction of spin polarization with circularly polarized light, by particularly focusing on effects of band dispersions and Fermi surfaces in crystal systems with the spin-orbit interaction (SOI). By numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of a tight-binding model with the Rashba-type SOI, we reproduce the light-induced spin polarization proportional to $E_0^2/{\omega }^3$ where $E_0$ and $\omega$ are the electric-field amplitude and the angular frequency of light, respectively. This optical spin induction is attributed to dynamical magnetoelectric coupling between the light electric field and the electron spins mediated by the SOI. We elucidate that the magnitude and sign of the induced spin polarization sensitively depend on the electron filling. To understand these results, we construct an analytical theory based on the Floquet theorem. The theory successfully explains the dependencies on $E_0$ and $\omega$ and ascribes the electron-filling dependence to a momentum-dependent effective magnetic field governed by the Fermi-surface geometry. Several candidate materials and experimental conditions relevant to our theory and model parameters are also discussed. Our findings will enable us to engineer the magneto-optical responses of matters via tuning the material parameters.

arXiv comment21 pages, 7 figures, to appear in New J. Phys

References in corpus (23)

• Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications
• New Perspectives for Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling
• Floquet Topological Insulator in Semiconductor Quantum Wells
• Transport properties of non-equilibrium systems under the application of light: Photo-induced quantum Hall insulators without Landau levels
• Nonequilibrium dynamical mean-field theory and its applications
• High-frequency approximation for periodically driven quantum systems from a Floquet-space perspective
• Current induced electron spin polarization in strained semiconductors
• Gate-Controlled Spin-Orbit Quantum Interference Effects in Lateral Transport
• A spin metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor using half-metallic-ferromagnet contacts for the source and drain
• Ballistic spin-polarized transport and Rashba spin precession in semiconductor nanowires
• S-wave/spin-triplet order in superconductors without inversion symmetry: Li${}_2$Pd${}_3$B and Li${}_2$Pt${}_3$B
• Experimental Separation of Rashba and Dresselhaus Spin-Splittings in Semiconductor Quantum Wells
• Quantum transport in Rashba spin-orbit materials: A review
• Crystal Symmetry, Electron-Phonon Coupling, and Superconducting Tendencies in Li${}_2$Pd${}_3$B and Li${}_2$Pt${}_3$B
• Pure circular polarization electroluminescence at room temperature with spin-polarized light-emitting diodes
• Laser-Driven Multiferroics and Ultrafast Spin Current Generation
• Electric Dipole Induced Spin Resonance in Disordered Semiconductors
• Magnetization and phase transition induced by circularly polarized laser in quantum magnets
• Laser-induced magnetization curve
• Growth Dynamics of Photoinduced Domains in Two-Dimensional Charge-Ordered Conductors Depending on Stabilization Mechanisms
• Periodic array of quantum rings strongly coupled to circularly polarized light as a topological insulator
• Highly Efficient Induction of Spin Polarization by Circularly-Polarized Electromagnetic Waves in the Rashba Spin-Orbit Systems
• Effect of Electron-Electron Interactions on Rashba-like and Spin-Split Systems

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Inverse Faraday effect in Mott insulators
• Floquet theory of photoinduced topological phase transitions in the organic salt $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)${}_2$I${}_3$ irradiated with elliptically polarized light
• Theory of the inverse Faraday effect in dissipative Rashba electron systems: Floquet engineering perspective
• Spin contribution to the inverse Faraday effect of non-magnetic metals
• Light-induced anomalous Hall conductivity in massive 3D Dirac semimetal Co${}_3$Sn${}_2$S${}_2$
• Predicted novel type of photoinduced topological phase transition accompanied by collision and collapse of Dirac-cone pair in organic salt $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)${}_2$I${}_3$
• Nonlinear photomagnetization in insulators
• Photoinduced 120-degree spin order in the Kondo-lattice model on a triangular lattice
• Floquet theory and applications in open quantum and classical systems
• Multiple Floquet Chern insulator phases in the spin-charge coupled triangular-lattice ferrimagnet: Crucial role of higher-order terms in the high-frequency expansion
• Formulation of the orbital magnetic moment in multiorbital tight-binding models: Application to the inverse Faraday effect
• Photoinduced Pseudospin Polarization in a Three-Orbital Hubbard Model