2005/12/31 by P. Brusheim, H. Q. Xu · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Gyrotron and Vacuum Electronics Research #Magnetic properties of thin films #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.74.205307
published as Physical Review B 74, 205307 (2006)
openalex publication_date 2006/11/07 · arxiv created 2006/11/08 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We study spin-resolved probability distributions for electrons in a multichannel waveguide in the presence of a spin-orbit interaction. For a spin-polarized electron injection, a zitterbewegung pattern is predicted in the probability distribution of electrons in the waveguide. For a spin-unpolarized injection, the spin-resolved electron probability in the waveguide shows spin accumulations. In addition to the spin Hall phenomenon---namely, accumulations of opposite spins at the lateral edges of the waveguide---we predict the existence of a regular stripe pattern of spin accumulations in the internal region of the waveguide. We show that the predicted zitterbewegung and spin Hall effect stem from the same mechanism and are formed from coherent states of electrons in the waveguide.