2016/11/15 by Dongwook Go, Jan-Philipp Hanke, Patrick M. Buhl +6 · 139 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic orbital #Condensed matter physics #Electron #Ferromagnetism #Geometric phase #Magnetic anisotropy #Magnetic field #Magnetic properties of thin films #Magnetism #Non-bonding orbital #Orbit (dynamics) #Orbital magnetization #Orbital overlap #Physics #Point reflection #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Quantum mechanics #Rashba effect #Spintronics #Spin–orbit interaction #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/srep46742
published in Scientific Reports 7(1), 46742 (Nature Portfolio)
arxiv created 2016/11/15 · openalex publication_date 2017/04/25 · arxiv updated 2017/04/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/08
Abstract As the inversion symmetry is broken at a surface, spin-orbit interaction gives rise to spin-dependent energy shifts – a phenomenon which is known as the spin Rashba effect. Recently, it has been recognized that an orbital counterpart of the spin Rashba effect – the orbital Rashba effect – can be realized at surfaces even without spin-orbit coupling. Here, we propose a mechanism for the orbital Rashba effect based on sp orbital hybridization, which ultimately leads to the electric polarization of surface states. For the experimentally well-studied system of a BiAg 2 monolayer, as a proof of principle, we show from first principles that this effect leads to chiral orbital textures in k-space. In predicting the magnitude of the orbital moment arising from the orbital Rashba effect, we demonstrate the crucial role played by the Berry phase theory for the magnitude and variation of the orbital textures. As a result, we predict a pronounced manifestation of various orbital effects at surfaces, and proclaim the orbital Rashba effect to be a key platform for surface orbitronics.