A Unified Description of Spin Transport, Weak Antilocalization and Triplet Superconductivity in Systems with Spin-Orbit Coupling

Abstract

The Eilenberger equation is a standard tool in the description of superconductors with an arbitrary degree of disorder. It can be generalized to systems with linear-in-momentum spin-orbit coupling (SOC), by exploiting the analogy of SOC with a non-abelian background field. Such field mixes singlet and triplet components and yields the rich physics of magnetoelectric phenomena. In this work we show that the application of this equation extends further, beyond superconductivity. In the normal state, the linearized Eilenberger equation describes the coupled spin-charge dynamics. Moreover, its resolvent corresponds to the so called Cooperons, and can be used to calculate the weak localization corrections. Specifically, we show how to solve this equation for any source term and provide a closed-form solution for the case of Rashba SOC. We use this solution to address several problems of interest for spintronics and superconductivity. Firstly, we study spin injection from ferromagnetic electrodes in the normal state, and describe the spatial evolution of spin density in the sample, and the complete crossover from the diffusive to the ballistic limit. Secondly, we address the so-called superconducting Edelstein effect, and generalize the previously known results to arbitrary disorder. Thirdly, we study weak localization correction beyond the diffusive limit, which can be a valuable tool in experimental characterization of materials with very strong SOC. We also address the so-called pure gauge case where the persistent spin helices form. Our work establishes the linearized Eilenberger equation as a powerful and a very versatile method for the study of materials with spin-orbit coupling, which often provides a simpler and more intuitive picture compared to alternative methods.