Orbital Angular Momentum Induced Spin Polarization of 2D Metallic Bands
Takahiro Kobayashi, Yoshitaka Nakata, Koichiro Yaji, Tatsuya Shishidou, D. F. Agterberg, Shunsuke Yoshizawa, Fumio Komori, Shik Shin, M. Weinert, Takashi Uchihashi, Kazuyuki Sakamoto
Abstract
The electrons in 2D systems with broken inversion symmetry are spin-polarized due to spin-orbit coupling and provide perfect targets for observing exotic spin-related fundamental phenomena. We observe a Fermi surface with a novel spin texture in the 2D metallic system formed by indium double layers on Si(111) and find that the primary origin of the spin-polarized electronic states of this system is the orbital angular momentum and not the so-called Rashba effect. The present results deepen the understanding of the physics arising from spin-orbit coupling in atomic-layered materials with consequences for spintronic devices and the physics of the superconducting state.