Spin Accumulation in the Electron Transport with Rashba Interaction

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Rashba interaction influences spin accumulation in 2D electron transport, revealing the roles of disorder, spin current, and ferromagnetic interactions across ballistic and diffusive regimes.

Contribution

It introduces a method to calculate spin accumulation considering lifetime effects, bridging ballistic and diffusive regimes, and highlights the impact of disorders and ferromagnetic interactions.

Findings

Disorders suppress spin current and induce spin accumulation in the diffusive regime.

In the ballistic regime, spins are more spread out with no definite signs.

Ferromagnetic interactions increase edge spin accumulation.

Abstract

The non-equilibrium transportation of two-dimensional electrons through a narrow channel is investigated under the influence of the Rashba interaction. By introducing suitable lifetime in the Green's function, the average spin values can be calculated from the ballistic regime to the diffusive regime. It is shown that the spin accumulation is a combined effect of the spin current and disorders. In the diffusive regime, disorders offer a mechanism to stop the spin current and generate the spin accumulation. In the ballistic regime, spins are more spread out and do not have definite signs. Further consideration indicates that the inclusion of ferromagnetic spin-spin interaction increases the spin accumulation near the edge.