Spin-orbit induced anisotropy in the magnetoconductance of two-dimensional metals

Spin-orbit coupling due to structure inversion asymmetry leads to a characteristic anisotropy in the magnetoconductance of two-dimensional metals. By calculating the Drude conductivity in the case of a realistic spin-orbit coupling, for a system near the metal-insulator transition we find an anisotropy which is of the order of several percent. This agrees with recent experiments.