No Arabic abstract
We consider a two-dimensional magnetic tunnel junction of the FM/I/QW(FM+SO)/I/N structure, where FM, I and QW(FM+SO) stand for a ferromagnet, an insulator and a quantum wire (QW) with both magnetic ordering and Rashba spin-orbit (SOC), respectively. The tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) exhibits strong anisotropy and switches sign as the polarization direction varies relative to the QW axis, due to interplay among the one-dimensionality, the magnetic ordering, and the strong SOC of the QW. The results may provide a possible explanation for the sign-switching anisotropic TMR recently observed in the LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface.
We study theoretically the onset of nonuniform superconductivity in a one-dimensional single wire in presence of Zeeman (or exchange field) and spin-orbit coupling. Using the Greens function formalism, we show that the spin-orbit coupling stabilizes modulated superconductivity in a broad range of temperatures and Zeeman fields. We investigate the anisotropy of the temperature-Zeeman field phase diagram, which is related to the orientation of the Zeeman field. In particular, the inhomogeneous superconducting state disappears if this latter field is aligned or perpendicular to the wire direction. We identify two regimes corresponding to weak and strong spin-orbit coupling respectively. The wave-vector of the modulated phase is evaluated in both regimes. The results also pertain for quasi-1D superconductors made of weakly coupled 1D chains.
The effect of an ac electric field on quantum transport properties in a system of three quantum dots, two of which are connected in parallel while the third is coupled to one of the other two, is investigated theoretically. Based on the Keldysh nonequilibrium Greens function method, the spin-dependent current, occupation number and spin accumulation can be obtained in our model. An external magnetic flux, Rashba spin orbit coupling (SOC) and intradot Coulomb interactions are considered. The magnitude of the spin-dependent average current and the positions of the photon assisted tunneling (PAT) peaks can be accurately controlled and manipulated by simply varying the strength of the coupling and the frequency of the ac field. A particularly interesting result is the observation of a new kind of PAT peak and a multiple electron-photon pump effect that can generated and controlled by the coupling between the quantum dots. In addition, the spin occupation number and spin accumulation can be well controlled by the Rashba SOC and the magnetic flux.
We study the impacts of the magnetic field direction on the spin-manipulation and the spin-relaxation in a one-dimensional quantum dot with strong spin-orbit coupling. The energy spectrum and the corresponding eigenfunctions in the quantum dot are obtained exactly. We find that no matter how large the spin-orbit coupling is, the electric-dipole spin transition rate as a function of the magnetic field direction always has a $pi$ periodicity. However, the phonon-induced spin relaxation rate as a function of the magnetic field direction has a $pi$ periodicity only in the weak spin-orbit coupling regime, and the periodicity is prolonged to $2pi$ in the strong spin-orbit coupling regime.
We have studied the electrical conductivity of the electron gas in parallel electric and magnetic fields directed along the plane of a parabolic quantum well (across the profile of the potential). We found a general expression for the electrical conductivity applicable for any magnitudes of the magnetic field and the degree of degeneration of the electron gas. A new mechanism of generation of the negative magnetoresistance has been revealed. It has been shown that in a parabolic quantum well with a non-degenerated electron gas the negative magnetoresistance results from spin splitting of the levels of the size quantization.
We report on high-field angle-dependent magneto-transport measurements on epitaxial thin films of Bi2Se3, a three-dimensional topological insulator. At low temperature, we observe quantum oscillations that demonstrate the simultaneous presence of bulk and surface carriers. The magneto- resistance of Bi2Se3 is found to be highly anisotropic. In the presence of a parallel electric and magnetic field, we observe a strong negative longitudinal magneto-resistance that has been consid- ered as a smoking-gun for the presence of chiral fermions in a certain class of semi-metals due to the so-called axial anomaly. Its observation in a three-dimensional topological insulator implies that the axial anomaly may be in fact a far more generic phenomenon than originally thought.