Ab initio GW calculations of the time and length of spin relaxation of excited electrons in metals with inclusion of the spin-orbit coupling

An ab initio method has been proposed for calculating the spin relaxation time of excited electrons in metals in the framework of the GW method with inclusion of the spin-orbit coupling. The time and length of spin relaxation in Al, Cu, Au, Nb, and Ta have been calculated. The concept of the spin-flip phase space has been introduced. It has been demonstrated that the ratio between the spin relaxation time and the lifetime of the excited electron is well explained within this concept. The time and length of spin relaxation in Nb appear to be considerably shorter than those in Al, Cu, and Au. These quantities in Ta are especially small in accordance with the strong spin-orbit coupling. A comparison of the results with the previous data on the time and length of spin relaxation due to the interaction with impurities and phonons shows that, at an excited electron energy of the order of 1 eV, the inelastic electron-electron scattering in the presence of spin-orbit coupling is a dominant mechanism of spin relaxation.     

Spin-orbit coupling, spin relaxation, and spin diffusion in organic solids

We develop a systematic approach of quantifying spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and a rigorous theory of carrier spin relaxation caused by the SOC in disordered organic solids. The SOC mixes up and down spin in the polaron states and can be characterized by an admixture parameter γ2. This mixing effects spin flips as polarons hop from one molecule to another. The spin relaxation time is τ(sf) = R2/(16γ2 D), and the spin diffusion length is L(s) = R/4|γ|, where R is the mean polaron hopping distance and D the carrier diffusion constant. The SOC in tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) is particularly strong due to the orthogonal arrangement of the three ligands. The theory quantitatively explains the temperature-dependent spin diffusion in Alq3 from recent muon measurements.     

Spin polarization in parallel double dots with spin-orbit interaction

Spin polarization in parallel double quantum dots embedded in arms of Aharonov-Bohm interferometer is investigated. The spin-orbit interaction exists in quantum dots. We find that the spin polarization is quite large even with a weak spin-orbit interaction. The direction and the strength of the spin polarization are well controllable and manipulatable by simply varying the strength of spin-orbit interaction or the energy levels in quantum dots. Moreover, electron-electron interaction strengthens the spin accumulation when the energy levels of the two quantum dots are identical. As the energy levels are unequal, electron-electron interaction cannot increase the spin accumulation. It is worth mentioning that the device is free of a magnetic field or a ferromagnetic material and it can be easily realized with present technology.     

Coulomb "Blockade" of nuclear spin relaxation in quantum dots

We study the mechanism of nuclear spin relaxation in quantum dots due to the electron exchange with the 2D gas. We show that the nuclear spin relaxation rate 1/T(1) is dramatically affected by the Coulomb blockade (CB) and can be controlled by gate voltage. In the case of strong spin-orbit (SO) coupling the relaxation rate is maximal in the CB valleys, whereas for the weak SO coupling the maximum of 1/T(1) is near the CB peaks.     

Gauge theory approach for diffusive and precessional spin dynamics in a two-dimensional electron gas

We develop a gauge theory for diffusive and precessional spin dynamics in a two-dimensional electron gas. Our approach reveals a direct connection between the absence of the equilibrium spin current and a strong anisotropy in the spin relaxation: both effects arise if spin-orbit coupling is reduced to a pure gauge SU(2) field. In this case, the spin-orbit coupling can be removed by a gauge transformation in the form of a local SU(2) spin rotation. The resulting spin dynamics is exactly described in terms of two kinetic coefficients: the spin diffusion and electron mobility. After the inverse transformation, full diffusive and precessional spin density dynamics, including the anisotropic spin relaxation, formation of stable spin structures, and spin precession induced by a macroscopic current are restored. Explicit solutions of the spin evolution equations are found for the initially uniform spin density and for stable, nonuniform structures. Our analysis demonstrates a universal relation between the spin relaxation rate and spin-diffusion coefficient.     

Fluctuations of g factors in metal nanoparticles: effects of electron-electron interaction and spin-orbit scattering

We investigate the combined effect of spin-orbit scattering and electron-electron interactions on the probability distribution of g factors of metal nanoparticles. Using random matrix theory, we find that even a relatively small interaction strength significantly increases g-factor fluctuations for not-too-strong spin-orbit scattering (ratio of spin-orbit rate and single-electron level spacing 1/tau(so)delta < or near 1), and leads to the possibility to observe g factors larger than 2.     

Spin-orbit coupling in interacting quasi-one-dimensional electron systems

We present a new model for the study of spin-orbit coupling in interacting quasi-one-dimensional systems and solve it exactly to find the spectral properties of such systems. We show that the combination of spin-orbit coupling and electron-electron interactions results in the replacement of separate spin and charge excitations with two new kinds of bosonic mixed-spin-charge excitation, and a characteristic modification of the spectral function and single-particle density of states. Our results show how manipulation of the spin-orbit coupling, with external electric fields, can be used for the experimental determination of microscopic interaction parameters in quantum wires.     

Resonance backscattering in submicron rings

We discuss the rate of relaxation of the total spin in a two-electron droplet in the vicinity of the magnetic-field-driven singlet-triplet transition. The total spin relaxation is attributed to spin-orbit and electron-phonon interactions. The relaxation process is found to depend on the spin of ground and excited states. This asymmetry is used to explain puzzles in recent high source-drain transport experiments.     

Nondiffusive spin dynamics in a two-dimensional electron gas

We describe measurements of spin dynamics in the two-dimensional electron gas in GaAs/GaAlAs quantum wells. Optical techniques, including transient spin-grating spectroscopy, are used to probe the relaxation rates of spin polarization waves in the wave vector range from zero to 6x10(4) cm-1. We find that the spin polarization lifetime is maximal at a nonzero wave vector, in contrast with expectations based on ordinary spin diffusion, but in quantitative agreement with recent theories that treat diffusion in the presence of spin-orbit coupling.     

Spin dynamics and spin noise in the presence of randomly varying spin-orbit interaction in a semiconductor quantum wire

Using ensemble Monte Carlo simulation, we have studied hot carrier spin dynamics and spin noise in a multi-subband GaAs quantum wire in the presence of a randomly varying Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The random variation reduces the carrier ensemble's spin dephasing time due to the D'yakonov-Perel' mechanism, but otherwise makes no qualitative difference to the temporal spin relaxation characteristics. However, it makes a qualitative difference to the spatial spin relaxation characteristics which change from monotonic and smooth to non-monotonic and chaotic because of a complex interplay between carriers in different subbands. As far as spin fluctuation and spin noise are concerned, the random variation has no major effect except that the low-frequency noise power spectral density increases slightly when the magnitude of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction field is varied randomly while holding the direction constant.     

Contribution to the theory of spin relaxation at finite temperatures in the odd-filling quantum Hall effect regime

Spin relaxation in a two-dimensional electron gas (2D EG) is treated as the establishment of equilibrium in a gas of spin excitons as a result of processes that change the number of spin excitons. Coalescence is the dominant channel above a temperature of the order of 1 K. The coalescence of excitons can occurr as a result of spin-orbit and Coulomb interactions in the 2D EG. The rate of coalescence falls exponentially at low temperatures. The relaxation time is calculated, and the critical temperature below which the main annihilation process becomes that due to the exciton-phonon interaction is determined. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 8, 531–536 (25 October 1999)     

Spin Hall effect on edge magnetization and electric conductance of a 2D semiconductor strip

The intrinsic spin Hall effect on spin accumulation and electric conductance in a diffusive regime of a 2D electron gas has been studied for a 2D strip of a finite width. It is shown that the spin polarization near the flanks of the strip, as well as the electric current in the longitudinal direction, exhibit damped oscillations as a function of the width and strength of the Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction. Cubic terms of this interaction are crucial for spin accumulation near the edges. As expected, no effect on the spin accumulation and electric conductance have been found in case of Rashba spin-orbit interaction.     

Optical conductivity of a two-dimensional electron liquid with spin-orbit interaction

The interplay of electron-electron interactions and spin-orbit coupling leads to a new contribution to the homogeneous optical conductivity of the electron liquid. The latter is known to be insensitive to many-body effects for a conventional electron system with parabolic dispersion. The parabolic spectrum has its origin in the Galilean invariance which is broken by spin-orbit coupling. This opens up a possibility for the optical conductivity to probe electron-electron interactions. We analyze the interplay of interactions and spin-orbit coupling and obtain optical conductivity beyond RPA.     

在CP MAS NMR中测量质子自旋扩散速率的方法

自旋扩散在固体核磁共振的许多现象中都起着非常重要的作用。现有几种理论方案以估算扩散系数。然而在实践中这种估算既不实际也不可靠。本文提出了确定自旋扩散速率的新方案,它利用的是CP MAS NMR中的稀核退极化规律。带质子的稀核磁化矢量在退极化中表现出两个阶段,慢衰减的第二阶段是单一指数过程,它提供了自旋扩散速率的直接度量。自旋扩散实质上是极化转移的一种宏观表现形式,这种转移通过一系列成对自旋的flip-flop进行,可以用一维随机走步模型描述。从退磁过程半对数曲线的斜率可以求得平均flip-flop时间。自旋扩散系数可以由此估算。在一些典型的刚性有机固体和结晶高分子聚合物中,求得平均flip-flop的时间是700微秒左右。它比偶极相关时间大一个数量级。这意味着,自旋扩散时间常数与自旋—自旋弛豫时间常数是很不相同的,虽然这两个相应过程虽密切相关的。由质子线宽估计自旋扩散系数是不可靠的。     

Amide proton relaxation measurements employing a highly deuterated protein

Proton NMR longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates of unlabelled proteins are generally dominated by the many 1H-1H dipolar interactions so that spin diffusion, rather than molecular or internal motions, governs longitudinal relaxation. Here, relaxation measurements of backbone amide proton (1H(N)) magnetisations have been carried out employing the 99% 2H, 98% 15N labelled, small 2F2 protein domain in 10%/90% H(2)O/D(2)O solution. Under these conditions, the longitudinal relaxation rates exhibit time constants, T(1)*=1/R(1)* if described by a mono-exponential, within the range of 3.0 to 18.7s-a wide range which indicates that the phenomenon of spin diffusion has been greatly reduced. The majority of 1H(N) nuclei in this sample (pH 4.0 and 5 degrees C) exhibit chemical exchange with solvent that couples their longitudinal relaxation to that of the solvent. For the subset of 1H(N) nuclei not undergoing detectable solvent chemical exchange, the R(1)* rates correlate well with their individual 1H(N,O)/2H(N,O) structural environments. The correlation for corresponding transverse relaxation rates, R(2)* was found to be less good. Longitudinal relaxation measurements in 1%/99% H(2)O/D(2)O solution identify a further subset of 1H(N) nuclei which exhibit essentially indistinguishable R(1)* rates in both 1% and 10% H(2)O, implying that averaging of rates from spin diffusion processes and different 2F2 isotopomer populations are negligible for these 1H(N) sites. In addition to a high sensitivity to structural parameters, model calculations predict 1H(N) relaxation rates to exhibit pronounced sensitivity to internal dynamics.     

Precession spin relaxation mechanism caused by frequent electron-electron collisions

It is shown that the D’yakonov-Perel’ spin relaxation mechanism in a two-dimensional electron gas is controlled not only by the electron-momentum relaxation that accounts for the electron mobility but also by the electron-electron collisions. The kinetic equation describing the mixing of electron spin in the k space was solved, and the spin relaxation time τ_s caused by frequent electron-electron collisions was determined. The time τ _s was calculated for a nondegenerate electron gas both with and without allowance for the exchange interaction.     

Effect of electron-electron interaction on spin relaxation of charge carriers in semiconductors

An analysis of spin dynamics is presented for semiconductor systems without inversion symmetry that exhibit spin splitting. It is shown that electron-electron interaction reduces the rate of the Dyakonov-Perel (precession) mechanism of spin relaxation both via spin mixing in the momentum space and via the Hartree-Fock exchange interaction in spin-polarized electron gas. The change in the Hartree-Fock contribution with increasing nonequilibrium spin polarization is analyzed. Theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results on spin dynamics in GaAs/AlGaAs-based quantum-well structures. The effect of electron-electron collisions is examined not only for two-dimensional electron gas in a quantum well, but also for electron gas in a bulk semiconductor and a quantum wire.     

Theory of intramolecular spin relaxation by translational diffusion in locally ordered fluids

In locally ordered fluids, such as macromolecular solutions, clays and lyotropic liquid crystals, nuclear spin relaxation can be induced by modulation, through translational diffusion of the fluid molecules, of the magnitude and orientation of the residual intramolecular spin-lattice coupling tensor, which is only partially averaged by local molecular motions near an interface. A theory of spin relaxation in locally ordered fluids bounded by planar interfaces is developed, with special emphasis on effects of translational diffusion. The theory is based on a continuous diffusion model (CDM) which, in contrast to the commonly adopted discrete exchange model (DEM), treats equilibrium and time-dependent distribution functions in a self-consistent way. A striking feature of translational diffusion in heterogeneous systems is the abundance of reencounters with previously visited interfacial regions. It is demonstrated that these diffusional reencounters, which are inherent in the CDM theory, may lead to a relaxation behaviour which is qualitatively different from that predicted by the DEM theory. Furthermore, it is seen that the widespread concept of intrinsic relaxation rate (associated with a spatial region) and the fast/slow exchange classification are not generally valid. The formal framework of the CDM theory allows molecular interactions of any complexity to be introduced. In this paper a mean-field model based on the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation is used to obtain analytic expressions for the spectral density functions that determine the relaxation behaviour in the presence and in the absence of spectral line splittings.     

Spin dynamics of Rashba-Dresselhaus two-dimensional electron systems with electron-electron interactions

Spin dynamics of Rashba-Dresselhaus two-dimensional electron systems is studied by taking account of electron-electron interactions under the D’yakonov-Perel’ mechanism. The diffusion equations for charge and spin densities are obtained through decoupling of the interactions using the auxiliary Bose field. We show that the electron-electron interaction has no effect on the infinite spin lifetime when the Rashba and Dresselhaus coupling constants satisfy the condition α = ±β. If the general condition α≠±β is satisfied, the spin lifetime is finite and enhanced by the electron-electron interaction with the increment of the temperature in the ballistic regime. The increasing amplitude of the spin lifetime depends on the ratio of the temperature to the Fermi temperature.     

Electrical control of spin relaxation in a quantum dot

We demonstrate electrical control of the spin relaxation time T1 between Zeeman-split spin states of a single electron in a lateral quantum dot. We find that relaxation is mediated by the spin-orbit interaction, and by manipulating the orbital states of the dot using gate voltages we vary the relaxation rate W identical withT1(-1) by over an order of magnitude. The dependence of W on orbital confinement agrees with theoretical predictions, and from these data we extract the spin-orbit length. We also measure the dependence of W on the magnetic field and demonstrate that spin-orbit mediated coupling to phonons is the dominant relaxation mechanism down to 1 T, where T1 exceeds 1 s.