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Spin Hall Effect and Irreversible Thermodynamics; Center-to-Edge Transverse Current-Induced Voltage

Published

Author(s)

Wayne M. Saslow

Abstract

We examine the Dyakonov and Perel theory of the Spin Hall Effect from the viewpoint of irreversible thermodynamics. As thermodynamic driving forces we include the effect of the thermal gradient, the gradient of the electrochemical potential (rather than the potential gradient and density gradient separately), and the gradient of the ``internal'' magnetic field that is thermodynamically conjugate to the magnetization. In turn, we obtain the form of bulk transport coefficients relating the fluxes to the thermodynamic forces. Relative to the original work of Dyakonov and Perel, in addition to the new terms due to thermal gradients, the Onsager relations require three new (non-linear) terms in the current density, and minor revisions in the current density and spin current density. The center-to-edge transverse voltage difference due both to the $\beta\vec{P}\times\vec{E}$ term of Dyakonov and Perel and one of these new current density terms is calculated for the first time. A capacitative probe likely would not significantly disturb this effect. %We also consider the boundary conditions on the fluxes and the surface transport coefficients that relate the fluxes crossing a surface to the differences in the thermodynamic driving forces across that surface.
Citation
Physical Review B
Volume
91
Issue
1

Keywords

spintronics, spin-orbit scattering, irreversible thermodynamics

Citation

Saslow, W. (2015), Spin Hall Effect and Irreversible Thermodynamics; Center-to-Edge Transverse Current-Induced Voltage, Physical Review B, [online], https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.014401 (Accessed March 29, 2024)
Created January 5, 2015, Updated November 10, 2018