Low-Field Phase Diagram of the Spin Hall Effect in the Mesoscopic Regime

Abstract

When a mesoscopic two dimensional four-terminal Hall cross bar with spin-orbit interaction (SOI) is subjected to a perpendicular uniform magnetic field B, both integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE) and mesoscopic spin Hall effect (MSHE) may exist when disorder strength W in the sample is weak. We have calculated the low field "phase diagram" of MSHE in the (B,W) plane for disordered samples in the IQHE regime. For weak disorder, MSHE conductance G(sH) and its fluctuations rms(G(sH)) vanish identically on even numbered IQHE plateaus, they have finite values on those odd numbered plateaus induced by SOI, and they have values G(sH)=1/2 and rms(G(sH))=0 on those odd numbered plateaus induced by Zeeman energy. At larger disorders, the system crosses over into a regime where both G(sH) and rms(G(sH)) are finite, a chaotic regime, and finally a localized regime.