2020/10/23 by Daisuke Hara, D. Hara, M. S. Bahramy +2
Materials Science · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Condensed matter physics #Current (fluid) #Geology #Geometry #Inversion (geology) #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetic anisotropy #Magnetic field #Magnetic properties of thin films #Magnetization #Materials science #Mathematics #Orbital magnetization #Physics #Point reflection #Quantum mechanics #Seismology #Symmetry (geometry) #Thermodynamics #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.102.184404
published as Phys. Rev. B. 102. 184404 (2020) · 12 pages, 11 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B
arxiv created 2020/10/23 · openalex publication_date 2020/11/06 · arxiv updated 2020/11/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
In systems with time-reversal symmetry, the orbital magnetization is zero in equilibrium. Recently, it has been proposed that the orbital magnetization can be induced by an electric current in a helical crystal structure in the same manner as that in a classical solenoid. In this paper, we extend this theory and study the current-induced orbital magnetization in a broader class of systems without inversion symmetry. First, we consider polar metals which have no inversion symmetry. We find that the current-induced orbital magnetization appears in a direction perpendicular to the electric current even without spin-orbit coupling. Using the perturbation method, we physically clarify how the current-induced orbital magnetization appears in polar metals. As an example, we calculate the current-induced orbital magnetization in SnP and find that it might be sufficiently large for measurement. Next, we consider a two-dimensional system without inversion symmetry. We establish a method to calculate the current-induced orbital magnetization in the in-plane direction by using real-space coordinates in the thickness direction. By applying this theory to surfaces and interfaces of insulators, we find that an electric current along surfaces and interfaces induces an orbital magnetization perpendicular to the electric current.