Valley and spin accumulation in ballistic and hydrodynamic channels

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive theory for valley and spin Hall effects in ultraclean 2D semiconductor channels, analyzing both ballistic and hydrodynamic regimes and their impact on polarization accumulation.

Contribution

It introduces a unified framework for understanding valley and spin polarization in ultraclean channels, accounting for various scattering mechanisms and transport regimes.

Findings

Polarization is significantly larger in the hydrodynamic regime.

Edge regions exhibit strong valley and spin polarization due to scattering effects.

Transport regime critically influences polarization magnitude and distribution.

Abstract

A theory of the valley and spin Hall effects and resulting accumulation of the valley and spin polarization is developed for ultraclean channels made of two-dimensional semiconductors where the electron mean free path due to the residual disorder or phonons exceeds the channel width. Both ballistic and hydrodynamic regimes of the electron transport are studied. The polarization accumulation is determined by interplay of the anomalous velocity, side-jump and skew scattering effects. In the hydrodynamic regime, where the electron-electron scattering is dominant, the valley and spin current generation and dissipation by the electron-electron collisions are taken into account. The accumulated polarization magnitude and its spatial distribution depend strongly on the transport regime. The polarization is much larger in the hydrodynamic regime as compared to the ballistic one. Significant valley and spin polarization arises in the immediate vicinity of the channel edges due to the side-jump and skew scattering mechanisms.