Effects of mechanical rotation on spin currents

Phys Rev Lett. 2011 Feb 18;106(7):076601. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.076601. Epub 2011 Feb 17.

Abstract

We study the Pauli-Schrödinger equation in a uniformly rotating frame of reference to describe a coupling of spins and mechanical rotations. The explicit form of the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) with the inertial effects due to the mechanical rotation is presented. We derive equations of motion for a wave packet of electrons in two-dimensional planes subject to the SOI. The solution is a superposition of two cyclotron motions with different frequencies and a circular spin current is created by the mechanical rotation. The magnitude of the spin current is linearly proportional to the lower cyclotron frequency.