Plasmon manipulation by exchange magnetic field in two-dimensional spin-orbit coupled electronic systems: A higher-order relativistic k.p study

TL;DR

This paper develops a higher-order relativistic k.p model to study how exchange magnetic fields influence plasmon excitations in 2D spin-orbit coupled systems, revealing symmetry-dependent control of collective charge modes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel k.p model derived from ab initio data that captures non-Rashba spin-momentum locking and exchange effects on plasmons in 2D materials.

Findings

Exchange field causes anisotropic, nonreciprocal plasmons in BiTeI.

Magnetic exchange modifies plasmon damping and spin winding in TbRh2Si2.

Symmetry-dependent magnetic control of charge excitations in 2D systems.

Abstract

A higher-order relativistic k.p model is developed to describe plasmon excitations in two-dimensional (2D) electronic systems with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and magnetic-exchange interactions. Derived entirely from ab initio band structure, the model allows for a non-Rashba spin-momentum locking and enables a direct coupling of the exchange field to the real spin of electrons. Using the BiTeI trilayer (hexagonal C3v symmetry) and the Si-terminated surface state of TbRh2Si2 (cubic C4v symmetry) as prototypes, we show that the exchange field induces strong, symmetry-dependent modifications of the band structure and plasmon dispersion. In BiTeI, it breaks the sixfold symmetry and leads to anisotropic, nonreciprocal plasmon modes, while in TbRh2Si2 it suppresses the characteristic triple spin winding and alters the plasmon damping. The results reveal that the interplay between SOC and exchange magnetism enables magnetic control of collective charge excitations in 2D spin-orbit systems beyond the Rashba paradigm.