Mode softening in charge-density excitations of a two-dimensional electron gas driven by Rashba spin-orbit interaction

Abstract

The electron density response of a uniform two-dimensional (2D) electron gas is investigated in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field and Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI). It is found that, within the Hartree-Fock approximation, a charge density excitation mode below the cyclotron resonance frequency shows a mode softening behavior, when the spin-orbit coupling strength falls into a certain interval. This mode softening indicates that the ground state of an interacting uniform 2D electron gas may be driven by the Rashba SOI to undergo a phase transition to a nonuniform charge density wave state.