Magnetic and Thermodynamic Properties of a Nanowire with Rashba Spin–Orbit Interaction

Abstract

In this work, we have considered ballistic nanowires in the presence of gate-controlled Rashba spin–orbit interaction and an in-plane magnetic field. First, the energy expression of the nanowires was obtained. Then, the analytical relations for the mean energy, free energy, specific heat, entropy and magnetic susceptibility of the system were derived. It is found that the specific heat and magnetic susceptibility show peak structure in the presence of spin–orbit and magnetic field. The peak position of specific heat depends on the Rashba constant, Zeeman splitting parameter and the angle between magnetic field and the wire axis (θ). The peak of magnetic susceptibility disappears with increasing magnetic field and decreasing θ.