Effect of Spin-Orbit Interaction and In-Plane Magnetic Field on the Conductance of a Quasi-One-Dimensional System

TL;DR

This paper investigates how spin-orbit interaction and in-plane magnetic fields influence the conductance of a quasi-one-dimensional ballistic electron system, revealing modifications in band structure and conductance behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized Landauer formula accounting for complex dispersion relations caused by spin-orbit and magnetic effects in ballistic conductors.

Findings

Band structure is significantly altered by spin-orbit and magnetic interactions.

Additional sub-band extrema and energy gaps are introduced.

The generalized Landauer formula accurately describes conductance under these conditions.

Abstract

We study the effect of spin-orbit interaction and in-plane effective magnetic field on the conductance of a quasi-one-dimensional ballistic electron system. The effective magnetic field includes the externally applied field, as well as the field due to polarized nuclear spins. The interplay of the spin-orbit interaction with effective magnetic field significantly modifies the band structure, producing additional sub-band extrema and energy gaps, introducing the dependence of the sub-band energies on the field direction. We generalize the Landauer formula at finite temperatures to incorporate these special features of the dispersion relation. The obtained formula describes the conductance of a ballistic conductor with an arbitrary dispersion relation.