Spin dependent transport in an electron gas with magnetic disorder

TL;DR

This paper investigates how magnetic impurities and spin-orbit interactions influence electron wavefunction behavior and spin-dependent transport in a 2D semiconductor, revealing localization transitions and interference effects.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of spin-dependent transport considering magnetic disorder, highlighting the role of wavefunction geometry and localization phenomena.

Findings

Interference effects modify carrier diffusion without localized states.

Stronger disorder leads to a localization transition with fractal wavefunctions.

Power-law dependence of diffusion on impurity concentration.

Abstract

We consider a two dimensional semiconductor with carriers subject to spin-orbit interactions and scattered by randomly distributed magnetic impurities. We solve the time-dependent Schroedinger equation to investigate the relationship between the geometrical properties of the wavefunction and the system's spin dependent transport properties. Even in the absence of localized states, interference effects modify the carrier diffusion, as revealed by the appearance of power laws dependent on the impurity concentration. For stronger disorder, we find a localization transition characterized by a fractal wavefunction and enhanced spin transport.