Inelastic-impurity-scattering-induced spin texture and topological transitions in surface electron waves

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how inelastic scattering off magnetic impurities in a Rashba system induces topological changes in electron spin textures, enabling controlled transitions between trivial and nontrivial topologies.

Contribution

It reveals that inelastic scattering introduces out-of-plane spin components, allowing topological transitions in spin textures of surface electron waves.

Findings

Inelastic scattering causes out-of-plane spin components.

Topological transitions between trivial and nontrivial spin textures are possible.

Elastic scattering alone maintains purely in-plane spin textures.

Abstract

Inelastic scattering off magnetic impurities in a spin-chiral two-dimensional electron gas, e.g., the Rashba system, is shown to generate topological changes in the spin texture of the electron waves emanating from the scattering center. While elastic scattering gives rise to a purely in-plane spin texture for an in-plane magnetic scat- tering potential, out-of-plane components emerge upon activation of inelastic scattering processes. This property leads to a possibility to make controlled transitions between trivial and nontrivial topologies of the spin texture.