Spin-orbit interaction effect on transport of Dirac fermions in graphene

TL;DR

This paper provides a theoretical analysis of how spin-orbit interactions, especially Rashba SOI, influence the quantum transport properties of Dirac fermions in graphene, revealing effects on conductivity oscillations and the quantum Hall effect.

Contribution

It offers explicit analytical expressions for conductivities considering spin-orbit interactions and demonstrates their impact on transport phenomena in graphene.

Findings

Rashba SOI causes splitting of SdH oscillation peaks.

Rashba SOI induces beating patterns in conductivity oscillations.

Rashba SOI suppresses the quantum Hall effect in graphene.

Abstract

We study theoretically the quantum transport properties of the Dirac fermions with spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) in graphene by using the method of Schwinger proper time together with decomposition over Landau level poles and Kubo formula. The analytical expressions for both longitudinal and Hall conductivities are derived explicitly. It is found that, from some numerical examples, when the Rashba SOI is taken into account the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation peaks of the longitudinal conductivity versus the chemical potential are split, while the SdH oscillation of the longitudinal conductivity versus a external magnetic field exhibits a beating pattern. Furthermore, the Rashba SOI tends to suppress the quantum Hall effect in graphene.