Spin-orbit interaction induced anisotropic property in interacting quantum wires

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the ground state and transport property of electrons in interacting quantum wires (QWs) oriented along different crystallographic directions in (001) and (110) planes in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI) and Dresselhaus SOI (DSOI). The electron ground state can cross over different phases, e.g., spin density wave, charge density wave, singlet superconductivity, and metamagnetism, by changing the strengths of the SOIs and the crystallographic orientation of the QW. The interplay between the SOIs and Coulomb interaction leads to the anisotropic dc transport property of QW which provides us a possible way to detect the strengths of the RSOI and DSOI. PACS numbers: 73.63.Nm, 71.10.Pm, 73.23.-b,71.70.Ej. © 2011 Cheng et al.