Quantum unidirectional magnetoresistance

Abstract

We predict unidirectional magnetoresistance effects arising in a bilayer composed of a nonmagnetic metal and a ferromagnetic insulator, whereby both longitudinal and transverse resistances vary when the direction of the applied electric field is reversed or the magnetization of the ferromagnetic layer is rotated. In the presence of spin-orbit coupling, an electron wave incident on the interface of the bilayer undergoes a spin rotation and a momentum-dependent phase shift. Quantum interference between the incident and reflected waves furnishes the electron with an additional velocity that is even in the in-plane component of the electron's wavevector, giving rise to quadratic magnetotransport that is rooted in the wave nature of electrons. The corresponding unidirectional magnetoresistances exhibit decay lengths at the scale of the Fermi wavelength$-$distinctive signatures of the quantum nonlinear magnetotransport effect.

16 pages, 7 figures. To appear in Physical Review B

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• Large Unidirectional Magnetoresistance in a Magnetic Topological Insulator
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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Quantum kinetic theory of quadratic responses
• Spin anomalous-Hall unidirectional magnetoresistance
• Nonreciprocal Ballistic Transport in Asymmetric Bands
• Proximity-induced nonlinear magnetoresistances on topological insulators
• Nonreciprocal ballistic transport in multi-layer Weyl semimetal films with surface engineering