Spin-orbit coupling, electron transport and pairing instabilities in two-dimensional square structures

Journal Article · Sun May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · AIP Advances

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4948384· OSTI ID:22611732

Kocharian, Armen N. ^[1]; Fernando, Gayanath W.; Fang, Kun ^[2]; Palandage, Kalum ^[3]; Balatsky, Alexander V. ^[4]

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1. Department of Physics, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269 (United States)
3. Department of Physics, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut 06106 (United States)
4. AlbaNova University Center Nordita, SE-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden)

Rashba spin-orbit effects and electron correlations in the two-dimensional cylindrical lattices of square geometries are assessed using mesoscopic two-, three- and four-leg ladder structures. Here the electron transport properties are systematically calculated by including the spin-orbit coupling in tight binding and Hubbard models threaded by a magnetic flux. These results highlight important aspects of possible symmetry breaking mechanisms in square ladder geometries driven by the combined effect of a magnetic gauge field spin-orbit interaction and temperature. The observed persistent current, spin and charge polarizations in the presence of spin-orbit coupling are driven by separation of electron and hole charges and opposite spins in real-space. The modeled spin-flip processes on the pairing mechanism induced by the spin-orbit coupling in assembled nanostructures (as arrays of clusters) engineered in various two-dimensional multi-leg structures provide an ideal playground for understanding spatial charge and spin density inhomogeneities leading to electron pairing and spontaneous phase separation instabilities in unconventional superconductors. Such studies also fall under the scope of current challenging problems in superconductivity and magnetism, topological insulators and spin dependent transport associated with numerous interfaces and heterostructures.

• OSTI ID: 22611732
• Journal Information: AIP Advances, Vol. 6, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2158-3226
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
DENSITY
ELECTRON CORRELATION
ELECTRONS
ENGINEERS
HUBBARD MODEL
INSTABILITY
INTERFACES
L-S COUPLING
MAGNETIC FLUX
MAGNETISM
NANOSTRUCTURES
ORBITS
POLARIZATION
SPIN
SPIN FLIP
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
SUPERCONDUCTORS
SYMMETRY BREAKING
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS