Predicting Phonon-Induced Spin Decoherence from First Principles: Colossal Spin Renormalization in Condensed Matter

Abstract

Developing a microscopic understanding of spin decoherence is essential to advancing quantum technologies. Electron spin decoherence due to atomic vibrations (phonons) plays a special role as it sets an intrinsic limit to the performance of spin-based quantum devices. Two main sources of phonon-induced spin decoherence - the Elliott-Yafet (EY) and Dyakonov-Perel (DP) mechanisms - have distinct physical origins and theoretical treatments. Here we show calculations that unify their modeling and enable accurate predictions of spin relaxation and precession in semiconductors. We compute the phonon-dressed vertex of the spin-spin correlation function, with a treatment analogous to the calculation of the anomalous electron magnetic moment in QED. We find that the vertex correction provides a giant renormalization of the electron spin dynamics in solids, greater by many orders of magnitude than the corresponding correction in vacuum. Our work demonstrates a general approach for quantitative analysis of spin decoherence in materials, advancing the quest for spin-based quantum technologies.

6 pages, 3 figures

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• Beyond-quasiparticle transport with vertex correction: self-consistent ladder formalism for electron-phonon interactions
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• Thermal dissipation of the quantum spin Hall edge states in HgTe/CdTe quantum well
• High-throughput spin-bath characterization of spin-defects in semiconductors
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