Spin-orbit coupling assisted by flexural phonons in graphene

TL;DR

This paper investigates how flexural phonons in graphene influence spin-orbit coupling, revealing that quantum and thermal fluctuations can notably enhance the spin-orbit gap through detailed modeling.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of spin-phonon couplings in graphene, including analytical and numerical estimates of their strength and the impact of fluctuations.

Findings

Flexural phonons significantly affect spin-orbit interactions.

Quantum and thermal fluctuations enhance the spin-orbit gap.

The study offers detailed models and estimates for these couplings.

Abstract

We analyze the couplings between spins and phonons in graphene. We present a complete analysis of the possible couplings between spins and flexural, out of plane, vibrations. From tight-binding models we obtain analytical and numerical estimates of their strength. We show that dynamical effects, induced by quantum and thermal fluctuations, significantly enhance the spin-orbit gap.