In magnetic metals, the interplay between conduction electrons subject to spin-orbit coupling and localized magnetic moments drive key magnetic effects such as spin-orbit torques. Such spin-orbit induced phenomena are believed to be vital for next generation magnetic memory devices.
We analyse their microscopic origin and develop models that connect with experiments. In particular, we focus on both disorder and the enhanced Rashba spin-orbit coupling at interfaces.
One prominent physical system of interest is the interface between perovskite-type oxides, where recent experiments reveal the important role of spin-orbit-induced effects with respect to the observed magnetic phases. We study the magnetic phases resulting from the interplay between spin-orbit coupling and magnetic exchange interactions via their transport properties. To capture the real-time evolution of these systems in non-equilibrium, we derive diffusion equations directly from quantum kinetic theory.
Publications (Highlights)
- “Z2 slave-spin theory of strongly correlated Chern insulator”. D. Prychynenko, S. D. Huber (Physica B, 481 53 (2015) or arXiv:1410.2001)
Awards & Fellowships
- DAAD Student Fellowship at “ETH Zurich” (September 2013 – October 2014)