Magnetoresistance due to edge spin accumulation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how spin-orbit interaction causes edge spin accumulation and affects magnetoresistance, providing a method to study spin phenomena via electrical measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a phenomenological framework describing charge-spin coupling and demonstrates how magnetic fields influence edge spin polarization and resistance.

Findings

Edge spin accumulation leads to measurable magnetoresistance effects.

Magnetic fields destroy edge spin polarization, increasing resistance.

The paper discusses the general properties of charge-spin coupling equations.

Abstract

Because of spin-orbit interaction, an electrical current is accompanied by a spin current resulting in spin accumulation near the sample edges. Due again to spin-orbit interaction this causes a small decrease of the sample resistance. An applied magnetic field will destroy the edge spin polarization leading to a positive magnetoresistance. This effect provides means to study spin accumulation by electrical measurements. The origin and the general properties of the phenomenological equations describing coupling between charge and spin currents are also discussed.