Abstract
Associated with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and inversion symmetry breaking, Rashba spin polarization opens an avenue for spintronic applications that was previously limited to ordinary magnets. However, spin-polarization effects in actual Rashba systems are far more complicated than what conventional single-orbital models would suggest. By studying via density functional theory and a multiorbital model a three-dimensional bulk Rashba system (free of complications by surface effects), BiTeI, we find that the physical origin of the leading spin-polarization effects is SOC-induced hybridization between spin and multiple orbitals, especially those with nonzero orbital angular momenta. In this framework we establish a general understanding of the orbital mapping, common to the surface of topological insulators and the Rashba system. Consequently, the intrinsic mechanism of various spin-polarization effects—which pertain to all Rashba systems, even those with global inversion symmetry—is understood as a manifestation of the orbital textures. This finding suggests a route for designing high-spin-polarization materials by considering the atomic-orbital content.
1 More- Received 28 January 2016
- Revised 1 September 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.125207
©2016 American Physical Society