Rashba coupling in three-electron-quantum dot under cylindrical symmetry: An exact solution

The application of quantum dots in advanced technology goes beyond doubt. Here, based on an analytical methodology, investigate a three-electron-quantum dot in the presence of Rashba spin–orbit interaction under cylindrical symmetry. Both eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the system are reported and the problem is numerically discussed.     

Spin-dependent transport in four-terminal rings in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Spin dependent transport in one-dimensional four-terminal rings (FTRs) is investigated in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC). In the absence of the RSOC, the conductances as a function of the electron wave vector show resonant behavior for symmetrical configurations. For asymmetrical configurations, the conductances show peculiar zero-conductance resonances, and two kinds of conductance zeros have been found. In the presence of the RSOC, the original conductance zeros disappear as new conductance zeros are generated. Moreover, two kinds of symmetry relations have been found in the conductances, the spin dependent conductances and the spin polarizations. For the FTRs with axial or central symmetry, the phase-locking effect has been found in terminal 2, where there is no spin polarization. Under a weak magnetic field, the Zeeman term is treated by a perturbation, and it is found that the Zeeman effect is obvious for weak RSOC.     

Quantum phase transitions in mesoscopic Rashba rings

Novel quantum phases are found in the ground state of Rashba ring: the orbital magnetic phase (OMP), non-OMP, pseudo-OMP and quasi-OMP, which depend on the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) strength, electron number and ring size. We give the phase diagram and their quantum-phase-transition conditions.     

Effect of eccentricity in the spin accumulation effect induced in semiconductors rings with Rashba spin orbit interaction

A spin accumulation effect (SAE) is induced in a semiconductor nanoring with Rashba spin orbit interaction and pierced by a magnetic flux. We show that when the sample is not perfectly symmetric, the profile of the SAE can be highly inhomogeneous along specific orientations. In particular, we analyze the anisotropy generated in the angular profile by a finite eccentricity. We discuss the feasibility of detecting the effect with usual magneto optical techniques for a number of electrons and values of magnetic fluxes experimentally accessible.     

正多边形量子环自旋输运的严格解

研究了存在Rashba自旋轨道相互作用的正多边形量子环的自旋输运特性．采用量子网络的典型方法和Landauer-Büttiker电导公式,严格求解了电子通过正多边形量子环的散射问题,并得到了电导的解析表达式．通过数值计算和解析分析,进一步研究了量子环电导随电子波矢和自旋轨道相互作用强度变化的复杂形式,包括源于自旋轨道耦合相互作用的电导零点系列．特别地,还研究了正多边形环的边数趋近于无穷的极限情形,与直接采用圆环模型获得的结果完全一致． 关键词： Rashba自旋-轨道相互作用 量子网络 量子输运     

Numerical simulation of diffusive conductivity in Rashba split two-dimensional gas

We numerically model the conductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the presence of the Rashba spin–orbit (SO) interaction in the diffusive transport regime. We performed simulation using samples which width W and length L are up to 200 and 30 000, respectively, on a tight-binding square lattice. When the system is in the diffusive regime, the quadratic increase of the conductivity with SO interaction strength λ_SO derived previously by Born approximation is reproduced except for very weak SO interaction. In order to obtain satisfactory agreement between numerical and analytical results, the sample width and length should be much larger than the mean free path ℓ but the length should be shorter than the localization length ξ, e.g. 4ℓW and 10ℓLξ. The anomaly at weak SO interaction is also observed in the conductance fluctuation and the localization length, and is attributed to the finite size crossover from symplectic to orthogonal class with decreasing SO interaction. The typical values of the SO interaction characterizing the crossover obtained for ℓ48 are λ_SO1.0/W and 0.2/W when we impose open and periodic boundary conditions, respectively.     

Polarized spin transport in mesoscopic quantum rings with electron--phonon and Rashba spin--orbit coupling

The influence of electron--phonon (EP) scattering on spin polarization of current output from a mesoscopic ring with Rashba spin--orbit (SO) interaction is numerically investigated. There are three leads connecting to the ring at different positions; unpolarized current is injected to one of them, and the other two are output channels with different bias voltages. The spin polarization of current in the outgoing leads shows oscillations as a function of EP coupling strength owing to the quantum interference of EP states in the ring region. As temperature increases, the oscillations are evidently suppressed, implying decoherence of the EP states. The simulation shows that the magnitude of polarized current is sensitive to the location of the lead. The polarized current depends on the connecting position of the lead in a complicated way due to the spin-sensitive quantum interference effects caused by different phases accumulated by transmitting electrons with opposite spin states along different paths.     

Spin-polarization in a 3-terminal conductor induced by Rashba spin–orbit coupling

We investigate numerically the spin polarization of the current in the presence of Rashba spin–orbit interaction (RSOI) in a 3-terminal conductor. We use equation-of-motion method to simulate the time evolution of the wave packet and focus on single-channel transport. A T-shaped conductor with uniform RSOI proposed by Kiselev and Kim and a Y-shaped conductor with nonuniform RSOI are considered. In the T-shaped conductor, the strength of RSOI is assumed to be uniform. We have found that the spin polarization becomes nearly 100% with little loss of conductance for sufficiently strong spin–orbit coupling. This is due to the spin-dependent group velocity of electrons at the junction which causes the spin separation. In the Y-shaped conductor, the strength of RSOI is modulated perpendicular to the charge current. A spatial gradient of effective magnetic field due to the nonuniform RSOI causes the Stern–Gerlach type spin separation. The direction of the polarization is perpendicular to the current and parallel to the spatial gradient. Again almost 100% spin polarization can be realized by this spin separation.     

Spin splitter regime of a mesoscopic Rashba ring

Using the non-equilibrium Greens' function formalism we calculate the spin currents in a one-dimensional ring coupled to three leads and in the presence of perpendicular magnetic flux Φ and Rashba spin-orbit coupling. A finite bias is applied between the input lead and the other two output leads. We show that the spin-orbit coupling allows one to operate this system as a spin splitter, i.e. the output leads deliver spin-polarized currents with different orientations. We find that the spin splitter operation can be tuned at integer multiples of Φ/Φ₀. Its efficiency depends not only on the value of the Rashba coupling but also on the bias applied between the input and output leads. The selected spin orientation of the output leads can be reversed by a slight change of their contact position. We discuss as well the connection between the spin splitter operation and the spectral properties of the ring.     

Effect of Rashba spin-orbit coupling on electron transport in asymmetrically coupled regular polygonal quantum ring

The effect of Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on electron transport in asymmetrically coupled regular polygonal quantum ring is investigated. In absence of SOC, two kinds of conductance zeros appear periodically. In presence of SOC, one kind of conductance zero can be lifted by the Rashba SOC, the others persist.     

Full counting statistics of transport electrons through a two-level quantum dot with spin–orbit coupling

We study the full counting statistics of transport electrons through a semiconductor two-level quantum dot with Rashba spin–orbit (SO) coupling, which acts as a nonabelian gauge field and thus induces the electron transition between two levels along with the spin flip. By means of the quantum master equation approach, shot noise and skewness are obtained at finite temperature with two-body Coulomb interaction. We particularly demonstrate the crucial effect of SO coupling on the super-Poissonian fluctuation of transport electrons, in terms of which the SO coupling can be probed by the zero-frequency cumulants. While the charge currents are not sensitive to the SO coupling.     

Rashba spin–orbit coupling effect on a diluted magnetic semiconductor cylinder surface and ballistic transport

We have studied the Rashba spin–orbital effect on a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) cylinder surface in the presence of a magnetic field parallel to the cylinder axis, taking into account the Zeeman coupling and the s–d exchange interaction between the carriers and the magnetic ions. We have obtained an analytical expression for the electron energy spectrum, which depends on the magnetic ion concentration, temperature and strength of magnetic field. The results are used to obtain the conductance of the cylinder at finite temperature. It is shown that the presence of additional local extremum points in the subbands of the electronic spectrum leads to a nonmonotonic dependence of the ballistic conductance of the system on the chemical potential and magnetic field. In the presence of anomalous Zeeman terms with taking into account the Rashba splitting, each minimum of subband contributes _G0/2$G_0/2$ to conductance and each local maxima in the subband, actually reduce the conductance by _G0/2$G_0/2$ compared with the value _G0$G_0$, without the anomalous Zeeman splitting. The effect of finite temperature on the DMS cylinder conductance is a smearing out the sharp steps in the zero-temperature conductance, and shifting the peaks due to the temperature dependence of the s–d exchange interaction term.     

Gate voltage-dependent Aharanov–Bohm experiment in the presence of Rashba spin–orbit interaction

We measured gate voltage-dependent Aharonov–Bohm oscillations in an InGaAs-based two-dimensional electron gas ring with a gate on top of one of the branches. After ensemble averaging, the h/e oscillation spectrum showed smooth oscillatory behavior as a function of the gate voltage. This could be a manifestation of the spin–orbit interaction induced interference.     

Effects of Rashba spin–orbit coupling and a magnetic field on a polygonal quantum ring

Using standard quantum network method, we analytically investigate the effect of Rashba spin–orbit coupling (RSOC) and a magnetic field on the spin transport properties of a polygonal quantum ring. Using Landauer–Büttiker formula, we have found that the polarization direction and phase of transmitted electrons can be controlled by both the magnetic field and RSOC. A device to generate a spin-polarized conductance in a polygon with an arbitrary number of sides is discussed. This device would permit precise control of spin and selectively provide spin filtering for either spin up or spin down simply by interchanging the source and drain.     

Conductance of Rashba electron in a quantum waveguide with smooth boundary

By using the transfer matrix method, we theoretically investigated Rashba electron's spin transport in a straight waveguide with a stub which has a smooth boundary. It is proved that the two spin states propagate independently. The conductance of the waveguide has been calculated. Conductance quantization is common in this structure when we change the Fermi energy and the width of the stub. If the shape of the stub converges toward the limit–a quadrate stub, the conductance will reduce distinctly due to reflection.     

Electron transport for a laser-irradiated quantum channel with Rashba spin--orbit coupling

We investigate theoretically the electron transport for a two-level quantum channel (wire) with Rashba spin--orbit coupling under the irradiation of a longitudinally-polarized external laser field at low temperatures. Using the method of equation of motion for Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function, we examine the time-averaged spin polarized conductance for the system with photon polarization parallel to the wire direction. By analytical analysis and a few numerical examples, the interplay effects of the external laser field and the Rashba spin--orbit coupling on the spin-polarized conductance for the system are demonstrated and discussed. It is found that the longitudinally-polarized laser field can adjust the spin polarization rate and produce some photon sideband resonances of the conductance for the system.     

任意正多边形量子环自旋输运的普遍解

在有关偶数正多边形量子环对称连接特殊情形的自旋输运特性的研究基础上,进一步探讨了任意正多边形量子环的自旋输运性质.不仅解析地求解了相关电子散射问题,而且得到了 Landauer-Buttiker 电导的普遍公式,并讨论了它的圆环极限和 Aharonov-Casher 相位问题.结合数值计算,研究了正多边形量子环的Landauer-Buttiker 电导随多边形边数、引线连接方式、自旋轨道耦合强度以及电子波矢的周期变化特性和零点分布规律. 关键词： Rashba 自旋-轨道耦合 Aharonov-Casher 相位 量子网络 量子输运     

The conductance of the asymmetric Aharonov-Bohm ring with a delta-potential barrier in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction

This Letter deals with the effect of a delta-potential barrier on the one-dimensional and asymmetric Aharonov-Bohm ring with Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The analytic expressions of the transmission amplitude and conductance are derived by applying the transfer matrix method in the one-electron scattering formalism. Resorting to an adequate tuning of the Aharonov-Bohm magnetic flux and Rashba coupling strength, a control of the conductance can be done by varying the strength and the location of the barrier. This may be useful in the design of further mesoscopic spin filters by using suitable asymmetry configurations.     

Spin texturing in a parabolically confined quantum wire with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions

In this study, we investigate theoretically the effect of spin–orbit coupling on the energy level spectrum and spin texturing of a quantum wire with a parabolic confining potential subjected to the perpendicular magnetic field. Highly accurate numerical calculations have been carried out using a finite element method. Our results reveal that the interplay between the spin–orbit interaction and the effective magnetic field significantly modifies the band structure, producing additional subband extrema and energy gaps. Competing effects between external field and spin–orbit interactions introduce complex features in spin texturing owing to the couplings in energy subbands. We obtain that spatial modulation of the spin density along the wire width can be considerably modified by the spin–orbit coupling strength, magnetic field and charge carrier concentration.     

True spin and pseudo spin entanglement around Dirac Points in graphene with Rashba spin–orbit interaction

We analytically obtained the Schmidt decomposition of the entangled state between the pseudo spin and the true spin in graphene with Rashba spin–orbit coupling. The entangled state has the standard form of the Bell state, where the SU(2) spin symmetry is broken. These states can be explicitly expressed as the superposition of two nonorthogonal, but mirror symmetrical spin states entangled with the pseudo spin states. Because of the closely locking between the pseudo spin and the true spin, it is found that the orbit curve in the spin-polarization parameter space for the fixed equi-energy contour around Dirac points has the same shape as the $\delta \overrightarrow{k}$-contour. Due to the spin–orbit coupling that cause the topological transition in the local geometry of the dispersion relation, the new equi-energy contours around the new emergent Dirac Points can be obtained by squeezing the one around the original Dirac point. The spin texture in the momentum space around the Dirac points is analyzed under the Rashba spin–orbit interaction and it is found that the orientation of the spin polarization at each crystal momentum $\overrightarrow{k}$ is independent of the Rashba coupling strength.