Coupling of Spin and Orbital Motion of Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes

Details Coupling of Spin and Orbital Motion of Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes Coupling of Spin and Orbital Motion of Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes

2008-02-10

arxiv.org/abs/0802.1351v1

Nature 452, 448-452 (27 March 2008)

Physics

Condensed Matter

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

14 pages, 6 figures

Scientific paper

10.1038/nature06822

Electrons in atoms possess both spin and orbital degrees of freedom. In non-relativistic quantum mechanics, these are independent, resulting in large degeneracies in atomic spectra. However, relativistic effects couple the spin and orbital motion leading to the well-known fine structure in their spectra. The electronic states in defect-free carbon nanotubes (NTs) are widely believed to be four-fold degenerate, due to independent spin and orbital symmetries, and to also possess electron-hole symmetry. Here we report measurements demonstrating that in clean NTs the spin and orbital motion of electrons are coupled, thereby breaking all of these symmetries. This spin-orbit coupling is directly observed as a splitting of the four-fold degeneracy of a single electron in ultra-clean quantum dots. The coupling favours parallel alignment of the orbital and spin magnetic moments for electrons and anti-parallel alignment for holes. Our measurements are consistent with recent theories that predict the existence of spin-orbit coupling in curved graphene and describe it as a spin-dependent topological phase in NTs. Our findings have important implications for spin-based applications in carbon-based systems, entailing new design principles for the realization of qubits in NTs and providing a mechanism for all-electrical control of spins in NTs.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Coupling of Spin and Orbital Motion of Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Coupling of Spin and Orbital Motion of Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Coupling of Spin and Orbital Motion of Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-624767