Physics Colloquium Today on Spin Waves in Chiral Two-Dimensional Electron Systems

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Carsten A. Ullrich

The Department of Physics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences presents its Physics Colloquium, titled "Spin waves in chiral two-dimensional electron systems: theory and experiment" by Carsten A. Ullrich of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of Missouri at Columbia. The lecture will be from 4-5 p.m. Friday, March 16, in PHYS 133. Refreshments will begin at 3:30 p.m. in PHYS 134.

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is a subtle relativistic quantum effect which is present in all materials; in semiconductors and insulators, SOC can have a profound influence on the behavior of conduction electrons and holes, giving rise to novel topological effects and potential applications in spintronics and quantum information.

In this talk, Ullrich will discuss the properties of spin waves in n-doped semiconductor quantum wells subject to the so-called Rashba and Dresselhaus SOC. Spin waves have emerged as an appealing new concept to carry information ("magnonics"); he will show experimental and theoretical results which demonstrate that SOC provides interesting new ways of controlling the direction and group velocity of the spin waves.