Boundary conditions for spin diffusion

ORAL

Abstract

We introduce a general method of deriving boundary conditions for spin-charge coupled transport in disordered systems with spin-orbit interactions and derive boundary conditions for spin diffusion in the Rashba model for various types of boundaries. Due to the surface spin precession, the boundary conditions are generally non-trivial and may contain terms, which couple different components of the spin density. We argue that boundary conditions and the corresponding electric-field-induced spin accumulation depend on the nature of the boundary and therefore the spin Hall effect in a spin-orbit coupled system can be viewed as a non-universal edge phenomenon.

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Authors

  • Victor Galitski

    Condensed Matter Theory Center, Physics Department, University of Maryland, Joint Quantum Institute and Physics Department, University of Maryland, College Park

  • Anton Burkov

    Harvard University, Physics Department, Harvard University

  • Sankar Das Sarma

    Condensed Matter Theory Center, Physics Department, University of Maryland, Condensed Matter Theory Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA, Condensed Matter Theory Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, University of Maryland, Condensed Matter Theory Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-4111, USA, University of Maryland, College Park, CMTC, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, CMTC, Department of Physics, UMD, Maryland, Condensed Matter Theory Center, University of Maryland