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An Exact SU (2) Symmetry and Persistent Spin Helix in A Spin-Orbit Coupled System
An Exact SU (2) Symmetry and Persistent Spin Helix in A Spin-Orbit Coupled System
An Exact SU (2) Symmetry and Persistent Spin Helix in A Spin-Orbit Coupled System
Spin-orbit coupled systems generally break the spin rotation symmetry. However, for a model with
equal Rashba and Dresselhauss coupling constant (the ReD model), and for the [110] Dresselhauss
model, a new type of SU (2) spin rotation symmetry is discovered. This symmetry is robust against
spin-independent disorder and interactions, and is generated by operators whose wavevector depends
on the coupling strength. It renders the spin lifetime infinite at this wavevector, giving rise to a
Persistent Spin Helix (PSH). We obtain the spin fluctuation dynamics at, and away, from the
symmetry point, and suggest experiments to observe the PSH.
The physics of systems with spin-orbit coupling has perimentally accessible through tuning of the Rashba
generated great interest from both academic and prac- coupling via externally applied electric fields2 . When
tical perspectives1 . In particular, spin-orbit coupling = , the spin-orbit coupling part of the Hamilto-
allows for purely electric manipulation of the electron nian reads (kx + ky )(x y ). Rotating the spa-
spin2,3,4,5 , and could be of use in areas from spintronics tial coordinates by introducing k = 12 (ky kx ), and
to quantum computing. Theoretically, spin-orbit cou- also performing the global spin rotation generated by
pling reveals fundamental physics related to topological U = 12 (1 + i2 (x + y )), brings the Hamiltonian to
phases and their applications to the intrinsic and quan- the diagonal form:
tum spin Hall effect6,7,8,9,10 .
While strong spin-orbit interaction is useful for ma- 2
k+ 2
+ k
nipulating the electron spin by electric fields, it is also HReD = U HU = 2k+ z . (2)
2m
known to have the undesired effect of causing spin-
decoherence11,12 . The decay of spin polarization reflects Throughout this paper, we shall be using both the orig-
the nonconservation of the total spin operator, S, ~ i.e. inal spin basis and the transformed spin basis for the
~ H] 6= 0, where H is any Hamiltonian that contains
[S, HReD model, depending on the context. It should al-
spin-orbit coupling. In this Letter, we identify an ex- ways be remembered that z in the transformed spin ba-
act SU (2) symmetry in a class of spin-orbit systems that sis corresponds to 12 (x y ) in the original spin basis.
renders the spin lifetime infinite. The symmetry involves HReD is mathematically equivalent to the Dresselhauss
components of spin at a finite wave vector, and is different [110] model, describing quantum wells grown along the
from the U (1) symmetry that has previously been asso- [110] direction, whose Hamiltonian is given by:
ciated with this class of models13,14 . As a result of this
symmetry, spin polarization excited at a certain magic kx2 + ky2
H[110] = 2kx z . (3)
wavevector will persist. If this symmetry can be realized 2m
experimentally, it may be possible to manipulate spins
through spin-orbit coupling without spin-polarization de- As the Hamiltonians H[ReD] and H[110] are already di-
cay, at length scales characteristic of todays semiconduc- agonal, the energy bands (for H[ReD] ) are simply given
tor lithography. by:
We consider a two-dimensional electron gas without
k2
inversion symmetry, allowing spin-orbit coupling that is , (~k) = 2k+ , (4)
linear in the electron wavevector. The most general form 2m
of linear coupling includes both Rashba and Dresselhaus where , are the spin components in the new, unitary
contributions: ~ U SU
~ . The bands in Eq.[4]
transformed, spin basis: S
k2 have an important shifting property:
H= + (ky x kx y ) + (kx x ky y ), (1)
2m
(~k) = (~k + Q),
~ (5)
where kx,y is the electron momentum along the [100] and
[010] directions respectively, , and are the strengths where Q+ = 4m, Q = 0 for the H[ReD] model and
of the Rashba, and Dresselhauss spin-orbit couplings and Qx = 4m, Qy = 0 for the H[110] model. The Fermi sur-
m is the effective electron mass. We shall be inter- faces consist of two circles shifted by the magic shifting
ested in the special case of = , which may be ex- ~ as shown in Fig.[1].
vector Q,
2
The diffusion constant D = vF2 /2. Our results for Transient spin-grating experiments23,24 are particu-
the coupling coefficients are valid in the diffusive limit larly well-suited to testing our theoretical predictions
kF << 1, kF << 1 and reduce to the appropriate (Eqs.[19,20]) and discovering the PSH, as they inject fi-
limits in the cases 0 or 020,21 . We observe that nite wavevector spin distributions. If at t = 0 an Sz po-
for a general direction of propagation in the x plane, the larization proportional to cos(qx+ ) is excited, we predict
three components of spin, and the charge, are all coupled. a time evolution,
Motivated by experiments that probe spin dynamics
optically, we focus on the behavior of the out-of-plane
component of the spin, which is Sz in the original ba- Sz (q, t) = A1 (q)ei1 (q)t + A2 (q)ei2 (q)t , (21)
sis. We assume a space-time dependence proportional to
exp[i(t ~q ~r)], and compare ~
q parallel to [110] and ~q
parallel to [110]. where
The spin polarization lifetime for ~ q parallel to [110]
is not enhanced, as no shifting property exists in this " #
1 T2
direction. For this orientation, the four equations [14-17] A1,2 (q) = 1 p 2 . (22)
separate into two coupled pairs, with n being coupled 2 T2 + 4q 2 C12
to Sx+ and Sz coupled to Sx . The optical probe will Thus, according to theory, the photoinjected spin po-
detect the characteristic frequencies that are solutions to larization wave will decay as a double exponential, with
the equation that couples Sz with Sx : characteristic decay rates i1,2 (q). As the weight
factors of the two exponentials become equal and the de-
cay rate of the slower component 0 at the magic
1
q
i1,2 = Dq 2 (2T2 + T1 T12 + 4q 2 C22 ). (19) wave-vector. If transient grating measurements verify
2 these predictions, they will be able to provide rapid and
accurate determination of the spin-orbit Hamiltonian, en-
At = we have T2 = C2 = 0 and the characteristic
abling tuning of sample parameters to achieve = .
frequencies become i1 = Dq 2 T1 , i2 = Dq 2 .
The spin polarization dynamics are qualitatively dif- In conclusion, we have discovered a new type of spin
ferent in the [110] direction, which is the direction along SU (2) symmetry in a class of spin-orbit coupled mod-
which the Fermi surfaces are shifted. In this case the els including the ReD model and the Dresselhauss [110]
four equations again decouple into two pairs, with n cou- model. Based on this symmetry, we predict the exis-
pled to Sx and Sz coupled to Sx+ . The characteristic tence of a Persistent Spin Helix. The lifetime of the PSH
frequencies are: is infinite within these models, but of course there will
be other relaxation mechanisms which would lead to its
1
q
i1,2 = Dq 2 (2T1 + T2 T22 + 4q 2 C12 ). (20) eventual decay. We obtained the transport equations for
2 arbitrary strength of Rashba and Dresselhauss couplings
and these equations provide the basis to analyze experi-
We note that i2 (q) has a minimum at a wavevector that
ments in search of the PSH.
depends only on , , and m, i.e., is independent of kF
and . When = the decay rates become i1,2 = B.A.B. wishes to acknowledge the hospitality of the
Dq 2 T1 C1 q, and i2 (q) is zero (corresponding to the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at University of
PSH) at the shifting wave-vector 4m. We have checked California at Santa Barbara, where part of this work
that this relation continues to hold as we include higher was performed. This work is supported by the NSF
order corrections to the transport coefficients. Earlier through the grants DMR-0342832, by the US Depart-
calculations based on the pure Rashba model21,22 also ment of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under
predict
an increased spin lifetime at a finite wave vector contract DE-AC03-76SF00515, the Western Institute of
( 15/2)m, but the lifetime is enhanced relative to q = 0 Nano-electronics and the IBM Stanford SpinApps Cen-
only by the factor 16/7. ter.
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