Ballistic transport in one-dimensional loops with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling

TL;DR

This paper explores how Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings affect electron transport in polygonal quantum wire loops, revealing conditions for perfect localization and methods to estimate spin-orbit interaction ratios.

Contribution

It provides new insights into localization conditions and suppression of interference oscillations in spin-orbit coupled quantum loops, with implications for spin interferometry.

Findings

Conditions for perfect electron localization in quantum loops.

Suppression of Al'tshuler--Aronov--Spivak oscillations.

Use of ballistic spin interferometers to measure spin-orbit interaction ratios.

Abstract

We discuss the combined effect of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions in polygonal loops formed by quantum wires, when the electron are injected in a node and collected at the opposite one. The conditions that allow perfect localization are found. Furthermore, we investigate the suppression of the Al'tshuler--Aronov--Spivak oscillations that appear, in presence of a magnetic flux, when the electrons are injected and collected at the same node. Finally, we point out that a recent realization of a ballistic spin interferometer can be used to obtain a reliable estimate of the magnitude ratio of the two spin-orbit interactions.\bigskip