Electron-dephasing time in a two-dimensional spin-polarized system with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We calculate the dephasing time tau(phi)(B) of an electron in a two-dimensional system with a Rashba spin-orbit interaction, spin-polarized by an arbitrarily large magnetic field parallel to the layer. tau(phi)(B) is estimated from the logarithmic corrections to the conductivity within a perturbative approach that assumes weak, isotropic disorder scattering. For any value of the magnetic field, the dephasing rate changes with respect to its unpolarized-state value by a universal function whose parameter is 2E(Z)/E(SOI) (E(Z) is the Zeeman energy, while E(SOI) is the spin-orbit interaction), confirming the experimental report published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 186805 (2005). In the high-field limit, when 2E(Z) > E(SOI), the dephasing rate saturates and reaches asymptotically to a value equal to half the spin-relaxation rate.