Study of spin and orbital Edelstein effects in gated monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides

The generation of nonequilibrium magnetization by an applied electric field in noncentrosymmetric systems defines the Edelstein effect. While its spin analogue, the spin Edelstein effect (SEE), arising from spin polarization, is well established, the orbital counterpart, where magnetization originates from orbital angular momentum, remains less explored. Here, first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to study the orbital Edelstein effect (OEE) in gated monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Using MoS₂ as a model system, we examine electron- and hole-doped regimes. The gate-induced potential breaks mirror symmetry, generating Rashba-like chiral spin and orbital textures that yield an in-plane Edelstein response under an external electric field. Electron doping produces a predominantly orbital response, while hole doping leads to comparable spin and orbital contributions. Under hole doping, small strain markedly amplifies both effects via strain-driven shifts between the Γ and K/K' valleys. The computed OEE exceeds prior reports by over an order of magnitude, highlighting gated TMDs as promising platforms for tunable spin–orbitronic applications.