The universal definition of spin current

被引:88
作者
An, Z.
Liu, F. Q.
Lin, Y.
Liu, C. [1 ]
机构
[1] Wuhan Univ, Minist Educ, Key Lab Artificial Micro & Nanostruct, Wuhan 430072, Peoples R China
来源
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | 2012年 / 2卷
关键词
SPINTRONICS;
D O I
10.1038/srep00388
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
The spin current, orbit angular momentum current and total angular momentum current in a tensor form have been universally defined according to the quantum electrodynamics. Their conservation quantities and the continuity equations have been discussed in different cases. Non-relativistic approximation forms are deduced in order to explain their physical meanings, and to analyze some experimental results. The spin current of helical edge states in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells is calculated to demonstrate the properties of the spin current of the two dimensional quantum spin-Hall system. A generalized spin-orbit coupling term in the semiconducting media is deduced based on the theory of the electrodynamics in the moving media. It is recommended to use the effective total angular momentum current instead of the pure spin current to describe the distribution of polarization and the transport properties in spintronics.
引用
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页数:6
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