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Spin-sensitive atom scattering via spin-orbit interaction

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Abstract

We study the spin-sensitive scattering of the spin-orbit (SO) coupled cold atom subject to a moving spin-independent rectangular potential barrier. Due to that SO coupling breaks Galilean invariance, the spin orientation of the atom can be switched unidirectionally and thus can serve as a one-way spin switch. Different atomic scattering processes are analyzed at different barrier velocities. We explore the spin polarization rate and the transmission coefficient in a wide range of barrier velocities and find good agreement with the corresponding experiment. The spin switch can reach an efficiency close to 1 at appropriate parameters. This study presents a comprehensive understanding of the physical mechanism underlying the system’s function as a spintronic device.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, P.R. China

    Ren-Fei Zheng, Zheng-Chun Li, Lu Zhou & Yan Li

  2. School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, P.R. China

    Jie-Li Qin

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai, 200240, P.R. China

    Weiping Zhang

  4. Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, P.R. China

    Weiping Zhang & Lu Zhou

Authors
  1. Ren-Fei Zheng
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  2. Zheng-Chun Li
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  3. Jie-Li Qin
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  4. Weiping Zhang
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  5. Lu Zhou
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  6. Yan Li
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Correspondence to Lu Zhou.

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Zheng, RF., Li, ZC., Qin, JL. et al. Spin-sensitive atom scattering via spin-orbit interaction. Eur. Phys. J. D 74, 226 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2020-10379-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2020-10379-9

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