The separate and combined influences of the spin-orbit and electron-electron interactions on the electron magnetization in quantum rings have been studied theoretically on the basis of the spin-density-functional theory and the Kohn-Sham equation used for the calculation of electron states in two-dimensional parabolic quantum rings containing from two to six electrons. The magnetization of electrons in a quantum ring is calculated at zero temperature. The revealed abrupt changes in the ring magnetization are associated with the crossing of electron states that occurs if the spin-orbit and/or electron-electron interactions are taken into consideration.
We solve analytically the energy eigenvalue problem of narrow semiconductor quantum rings with a general spin-orbit term that includes as a special case the Rashba and Dresselhaus interactions acting simultaneously. The eigenstates and eigenenergies of the system are found for arbitrary values of the spin-orbit coupling constants without making use of approximations. The general eigenstates are expressed as products of a scalar Mathieu function and a spinor factor which is periodic or pseudo-periodic on the ring. Our general solution reduces to the previously found solutions for particular com…
We determine the relevant spinor valued wave functions for a two-dimensional quantum ring in the presence of Rashba-type spin-orbit interaction (SOI). The case of constant SOI strength is considered first, then we investigate the physical consequences of time-dependent (oscillating) SOI strength. Floquet's method is applied to find time-dependent eigenspinors, and it is shown that the Floquet quasienergies and thus their differences (the generalized Rabi frequencies) are determined by the radial boundary conditions. Time evolution of various initial states is calculated.
A didactic description of charge and spin equilibrium currents on mesoscopic rings in the presence of Spin-Orbit interaction is presented. Emphasis is made on the non trivial construction of the correct Hamiltonian in polar coordinates, the calculation of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions and the symmetries of the ground state properties. Spin currents are derived following an intuitive definition and then a more thorough derivation is built upon the canonical Lagrangian formulation that emphasizes the SU(2) gauge structure of the transport problem of spin 1/2 fermions in spin-orbit active media.…
By solving the Rashba model of mesoscopic rings, we give analytically the ground-state properties of the ring, including the spin polarization, the persistent charge and spin currents (PCC and PSC). These ground-state properties can be given based on four kinds of electron numbers in rings. The effect of the self-inductance of the ring leads to the self-sustained magnetic flux (SSMF) and the self-sustained PCC and PSC, which break spontaneously time-reversal symmetry to form orbital magnetic phase (OMP). To tune the spin-orbit coupling strength or electron number of the ring can induce the pha…
We investigate the electron localization in double concentric quantum rings (DCQRs) when a perpendicular magnetic field is applied. In weakly coupled DCQRs, the situation can occur when the single electron energy levels associated with different rings may be crossed. To avoid degeneracy, the anti-crossing of these levels has a place. We show that in this DCQR the electron spatial transition between the rings occurs due to the electron level anti-crossing. The anti-crossing of the levels with different radial quantum numbers provides the conditions for electron tunneling between rings. To study…
The electronic structure of the semiconductor double concentric quantum nano-ring (DCQR) is studied under the single sub-band effective mass approach. We show that in the weakly coupled DCQR, that has been placed in transverse magnetic field, the electron spatial transition between the rings can occur due to electron level anti-crossing. The anti-crossing of the levels with different radial quantum numbers provides the conditions when the electron tunneling between rings becomes possible. Results of numerical simulation for the electron transition are presented for DCQRs of different geometry.…
We developed the theory of electronic properties of semiconductor quantum rings with the Rashba spin-orbit interaction irradiated by an off-resonant high-frequency electromagnetic field (dressing field). Within the Floquet theory of periodically driven quantum systems, it is demonstrated that the dressing field drastically modifies all electronic characteristics of the rings, including spin-orbit coupling, effective electron mass and optical response. Particularly, the present effect paves the way to controlling the spin polarization of electrons with light in prospective ring-shaped spintroni…
Exact wave functions and energy levels are obtained for an electron in a two-dimensional semiconductor circular quantum ring with a confining potential of finite depth in the presence of both an external magnetic field and the Rashba spin-orbit interaction.
We derive an effective continuum model for describing the propagation of electrons in ballistic one-dimensional curved nanostructure which are marked by a strong interplay of spin-orbital degrees of freedom due to local electronic states with $d-$orbital symmetry, atomic spin-orbit and orbital Rashba couplings. We demonstrate how a planar inhomogeneous spatial curvature of the nanochannel can generate both spin and orbital textures represented through loops on the corresponding Bloch spheres. In particular, we employ the paradigmatic case of an elliptically shaped quantum ring to investigate t…
In the present work we investigate the behavior of all three components of persistent spin current in a quasi-periodic Fibonacci ring subjected to Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. Analogous to persistent charge current in a conducting ring where electrons gain a Berry phase in presence of magnetic flux, spin Berry phase is associated during the motion of electrons in presence of a spin-orbit field which is responsible for the generation of spin current. The interplay between two spin-orbit fields along with quasi-periodic Fibonacci sequence on persistent spin current is describe…
Electron transport through a spin-orbit-coupled quantum ring is investigated within linear response theory. We show that the finite width of the ring results in the appearance of Fano resonances in the conductance. This turns out to be a consequence of the spin-orbit interaction that leads to a breaking of the parity of the states localized in the ring. The resonances appear when the system is close to maxima of Aharonov-Casher conductance oscillations where spin transfer is heavily modified. When the spin-orbit coupling strength is detuned from the Aharonov-Casher maxima the resonances are br…
Solutions of the Schrödinger equation are obtained for an electron in a two-dimensional circular semiconductor quantum ring in the presence of both external uniform constant magnetic field and the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions of equal strengths. Confinement is simulated by a realistic potential well of a finite depth. The dependence of the energy levels on a magnetic field strength, strength of spin-orbit interaction and a relative ring width is presented.
Electronic transport in a one-dimensional mesoscopic ring threaded by a magnetic flux is studied in presence of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. A completely analytical technique within a tight-binding formalism unveils the spin-split bands in presence of the spin-orbit interactions and leads to a method of determining the strength of the Dresselhaus interaction. In addition to this, the persistent currents for ordered and disordered rings have been investigated numerically. It is observed that, the presence of the spin-orbit interaction, in general, leads to an enhanced amplitu…
We report an unconventional behavior of electron transport in the limit of zero magnetic flux in a one-dimensional disordered ring, be it completely random or any correlated one, subjected to Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling. It exhibits much higher circulating current compared to a fully perfect ring for a wide range of SO coupling yielding larger electrical conductivity which is clearly verified from our Drude weight analysis.
A net circulating current may appear within a quantum ring under finite bias. We study the characteristic features of the circular current in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI). Both charge and spin currents appear within the ring. Whereas when the ring is symmetrically connected to the external leads, we can get a pure charge current at non-zero Fermi-energy. On the other hand, for asymmetric ring-to-leads configuration, at zero Fermi-energy, the spin current vanishes but a pure charge current flows within the ring. Tuning RSOI, we demonstrate a way to control the pure spin …
We consider the generation of a pure spin-current at zero bias voltage with a single time-dependent potential. To such end we study a device made of a mesoscopic ring connected to electrodes and clarify the interplay between a magnetic flux, spin-orbit coupling and non-adiabatic driving in the production of a spin and electrical current. By using Floquet theory, we show that the generated spin to charge current ratio can be controlled by tuning the spin-orbit coupling.
We theoretically investigate the spin-dependent Seebeck effect in an Aharonov-Bohm mesoscopic ring in the presence of both Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions under magnetic flux perpendicular to the ring. We apply the Green's function method to calculate the spin Seebeck coefficient employing the tight-binding Hamiltonian. It is found that the spin Seebeck coefficient is proportional to the slope of the energy-dependent transmission coefficients. We study the strong dependence of spin Seebeck coefficient on the Fermi energy, magnetic flux, strength of spin-orbit coupling, and tempe…
The strength of the (Rashba-type) spin-orbit coupling in mesoscopic semiconductor rings can be tuned with external gate voltages. Here we consider the case of a periodically changing spin-orbit interaction strength as induced by sinusoidal voltages. In a closed one dimensional quantum ring with weak spin-orbit coupling, Rabi oscillations are shown to appear. We find that the time evolution of initially localized wave packets exhibits a series of collapse and revival phenomena. Partial revivals -- that are typical in nonlinear systems -- are shown to correspond to superpositions of states local…
We investigate the properties of persistent charge current driven by magnetic flux in a quasi-periodic mesoscopic Fibonacci ring with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. Within a tight-binding framework we work out individual state currents together with net current based on second-quantized approach. A significant enhancement of current is observed in presence of spin-orbit coupling and sometimes it becomes orders of magnitude higher compared to the spin-orbit interaction free Fibonacci ring. We also establish a scaling relation of persistent current with ring size, associated wit…
We put forward a new approach based on Green's function formalism to evaluate precisely persistent charge and spin currents in an Aharonov-Bohm ring subjected to Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. Unlike conventional methods our present scheme circumvents direct evaluation of eigenvalues and eigenstates of the system Hamiltonian to determine persistent currents which essentially reduces possible numerical errors, especially for larger rings. The interplay of Aharonov-Bohm flux and spin-orbit interactions in persistent charge and spin currents of quantum rings is analyzed in detail…
Charge and spin density distributions are studied within a nano-ring structure endowed with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin orbit coupling (SOI). For a small number of interacting electrons, in the presence of an external magnetic field, the energy spectrum of the system is calculated through an exact numerical diagonalization procedure. The eigenstates thus determined are used to estimate the charge and spin densities around the ring. We find that when more than two electrons are considered, the charge-density deformations induced by SOI are dramatically flattened by the Coulomb repulsion, while …
We demonstrate the theoretical possibility of obtaining a pure spin current in a 1D ring with spin-orbit interaction by irradiation with a non-adiabatic, two-component terahertz laser pulse, whose spatial asymmetry is reflected by an internal dephasing angle $ϕ$. The stationary solutions of the equation of motion for the density operator are obtained for a spin-orbit coupling linear in the electron momentum (Rashba) and used to calculate the time-dependent charge and spin currents. We find that there are critical values of $ϕ$ at which the charge current disappears, while the spin current reac…
One-dimensional quantum rings with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings are studied analytically and are in perfect agreement with the numerical results. The topological charge of the spin field defined by the winding number along the ring is also studied analytically and numerically in the presence of the spin-orbit interactions. We also demonstrate the cases where the one-dimensional model is invalid for a relatively large radius. However, the numerical results of the two-dimensional model always remain reliable. Just as many physical properties of the quantum rings are influenced by …
We calculate the persistent spin current inside a quantum ring as a function of the strength of the Rashba or Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction. We provide analytical results for the spin current of a one-dimensional (1D) ring of non-interacting electrons for comparison. Furthermore, we calculate the time evolution in the transient regime of a two-dimensional (2D) quantum ring connected to electrically biased semi-infinite leads using a time-convolutionless non-Markovian generalized master equation. In the latter case, the electrons are correlated via the Coulomb interaction and the ring can …
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-Buttiker 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 si…
Here we propose an isotropic all electrical spin analyzer in a quantum ring with spin-orbit coupling by analytically and numerically modeling how the charge transmission rates depend on the polarization of the incident spin. The formalism of spin transmission and polarization rates in an arbitrary direction is also developed by analyzing the Aharonov-Bohm and the Aharonov-Casher effects. The topological spin texture induced by the spin-orbit couplings essentially contributes to the dynamic phase and plays an important role in spin transport. The spin transport features derived analytically has…
We study bistability in the electron transport through a ring of N coupled quantum dots with two orbitals in each dot. One orbital is localized (called b orbital) and coupling of the b orbitals in any two dots is negligible; the other is delocalized in the plane of the ring (called d orbital), due to coupling of the d orbitals in the neighboring dots, as described by a tight-binding model. The d orbitals thereby form a band with finite width. The b and d orbitals are connected to the source and drain electrodes with a voltage bias V, allowing the electron tunnelling. Tunnelling current is calc…
We investigated the magnetotransport properties of mesoscopic platinum nanostructures (wires and rings) with sub-100 nm lateral dimensions at very low temperatures. Despite the strong spin-orbit interaction in platinum, oscillations of the conductance as a function of the external magnetic field due to quantum interference effects was found to appear. The oscillation was decomposed into Aharonov-Bohm periodic oscillations and aperiodic fluctuations of the conductance due to a magnetic flux piercing the loop of the ring and the metal wires forming the nanostructures, respectively. We also inves…
Spin-dependent (magneto)transport through a ring due to spin-orbit interaction
研究了在垂直磁场和α自旋轨道相互作用（SOI）作用下，电子输运通过连接两个外引线的一维圆环的输运特性.应用Griffith的边界条件，我们推导出相应的单电子散射问题的反射和透射系数的解析表达式。我们推广了Nitta等人早期的电导结果[Appl. Phys. Lett. 75，695（1999）]，并研究α、温度和弱磁场对电导的影响。改变α和温度会改变磁场相关电导的最小值和最大值的位置，甚至可以将最大值转换为最小值，反之亦然。
The electronic states and optical transitions of a ZnO quantum ring containing few interacting electrons in an applied magnetic field are found to be very different from those in a conventional semiconductor system, such as a GaAs ring. The strong Zeeman and Coulomb interaction of the ZnO system, exert a profound influence on the electron states and on the optical properties of the ring. In particular, our results indicate that the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect in a ZnO quantum ring strongly depends on the electron number. In fact, for two electrons in the ZnO ring, the AB oscillations become aper…
Spin dependent transport in a multi-terminal mesoscopic ring is investigated in presence of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. Within a tight-binding framework we use a general spin density matrix formalism to evaluate all three components ($P_x$, $P_y$ and $P_z$) of the polarization vector associated with the charge current through the outgoing leads. It explores the dynamics of the spin polarization vector of current propagating through the system subjected to the Rashba and/or the Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings. The sensitivity of the polarization components on the electrode-…
We study the effects of a synthetic gauge field and pseudospin-orbit interaction in a stacked two-dimensional ring-network model. The model was introduced to simulate light propagation in the corresponding ring-resonator lattice, and is thus completely bosonic. Without these two items, the model exhibits Floquet-Weyl and Floquet-topological-insulator phases with topologically gapless and gapped band structures, respectively. The synthetic magnetic field implemented in the model results in a three-dimensional Hofstadter-butterfly-type spectrum in a photonic platform. The resulting gaps are char…
We study Aharonov-Bohm effect in a two-terminal helical ring with long-range hopping in presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction. We explore how the spin polarization behavior changes depending on the applied magnetic flux and the incoming electron energy. The most interesting feature that we articulate in this system is that zero-energy crossings appear in the energy spectra at $Φ=0$ and also at integer multiples of half-flux quantum values ($n Φ_0/2$, $n$ being an integer) of the applied magnetic flux. We investigate the transport properties of the ring using Green's function formalism and …
