Rashba precession in quantum wires

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates how the Rashba effect causes electron spins to precess in quantum wires, considering the influence of confinement, electron interactions, and channel coupling.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how confinement type, electron interactions, and channel coupling affect Rashba spin precession in quantum wires.

Findings

Soft wall confinement enhances spin-orbit effects more than hard walls.

Electron-electron interactions increase Rashba precession.

Channel coupling may suppress spin precession.

Abstract

The length over which electron spins reverse direction due to the Rashba effect when injected with an initial polarization along the axes of a quantum wire is investigated theoretically. A soft wall confinement of the wire renormalizes the spin-orbit parameter (and the effective mass) stronger than hard walls. Electron-electron interactions enhance the Rashba precession while evidence is found that the coupling between transport channels may suppress it.