Abstract
We study the effect of the Rashba spin–orbit coupling on the Fermi arcs of topological Dirac semimetals. The Rashba coupling is induced by breaking the inversion symmetry at the surface. Remarkably, this coupling could be enhanced by the interaction with the substrate and controlled by an external electric field. We study analytically and numerically the rotation of the spin of the surface states as a function of the electron’s momentum and the coupling strength. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the spin-dependent two-terminal conductance is presented in the clean limit and with the addition of a random distribution of impurities. Depending on the magnitude of the quadratic terms in the Hamiltonian, the spin-flip conductance may become dominant, thus showing the potential of the system for spintronic applications, since the effect is robust even in the presence of disorder.
Highlights
In crystals that are not invariant under spatial inversion, the energy bands present splitting due to the spin–orbit coupling (SOC)
We study the effect of the Rashba spin–orbit coupling on the Fermi arcs of topological Dirac semimetals
We have studied the effect of Rashba spin–orbit coupling (RSOC) in the behavior of the surface Fermi arcs of Dirac semimetals
Summary
Yuriko Baba1,2,∗ , Francisco Domínguez-Adame , Gloria Platero and Rafael A Molina.
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