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Spin and orbital Edelstein effects in a two-dimensional electron gas: Theory and application to SrTiO3 interfaces

Annika Johansson, Börge Göbel, Jürgen Henk, Manuel Bibes, and Ingrid Mertig
Phys. Rev. Research 3, 013275 – Published 24 March 2021
Physics logo See synopsis: Electron’s Orbital Motion Dominates a Spintronic Effect

Abstract

The Edelstein effect produces a homogeneous magnetization in nonmagnetic materials with broken inversion symmetry which is generated and tuned exclusively electrically. Often the spin Edelstein effect—that is, a spin density in response to an applied electric field—is considered. In this paper we report on the electrically induced magnetization that comprises contributions from the spin and the orbital moments. Our theory for these spin and orbital Edelstein effects is applied to the topologically nontrivial two-dimensional electron gas at SrTiO3 interfaces. In this particular system the orbital Edelstein effect exceeds the spin Edelstein effect by more than one order of magnitude. This finding is explained mainly by orbital moments of different magnitude in the Rashba-like split band pairs, while the spin moments are of almost equal magnitude.

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  • Received 26 June 2020
  • Revised 5 February 2021
  • Accepted 5 February 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.013275

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

synopsis

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Electron’s Orbital Motion Dominates a Spintronic Effect

Published 24 March 2021

In a two-dimensional material, the orbital motion of electrons, rather than their spin, is the dominant contribution to an effect harnessed by spintronic devices.

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Authors & Affiliations

Annika Johansson1,*, Börge Göbel1,2, Jürgen Henk1, Manuel Bibes3, and Ingrid Mertig1

  • 1Institute of Physics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle, Germany
  • 2Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, 06120 Halle, Germany
  • 3Unité Mixte de Physique, CNRS, Thales, Université Paris-Saclay, 91767, Palaiseau, France

  • *annika.johansson@physik.uni-halle.de

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Vol. 3, Iss. 1 — March - May 2021

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