The Two Dimensional Kondo Model with Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling

TL;DR

This paper studies how Rashba spin-orbit coupling influences the Kondo effect in a two-dimensional magnetic impurity system, finding that the effect remains robust despite broken spin conservation, and discusses potential experimental implications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the robustness of the Kondo effect against Rashba spin-orbit coupling and proposes how it may alter the Kondo temperature in such systems.

Findings

Kondo effect persists with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Spin-orbit coupling may modify the Kondo temperature

Results may apply to magnetic atoms on metallic surfaces

Abstract

We investigate the effect that Rashba spin-orbit coupling has on the low energy behaviour of a two dimensional magnetic impurity system. It is shown that the Kondo effect, the screening of the magnetic impurity at temperatures T < T_K, is robust against such spin-orbit coupling, despite the fact that the spin of the conduction electrons is no longer a conserved quantity. A proposal is made for how the spin-orbit coupling may change the value of the Kondo temperature T_K in such systems and the prospects of measuring this change are discussed. We conclude that many of the assumptions made in our analysis invalidate our results as applied to recent experiments in semi-conductor quantum dots but may apply to measurements made with magnetic atoms placed on metallic surfaces.