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1. Write a short note the on history of spin.

The subject of spintronics deals mainly with the science and technology of using the spin
degree of freedom of a charge carrier for various applications such as storing, encoding,
accessing, processing and to transmitting information in some manner. However, such role
had been traditionally delegated to the charge of the electron rather than the spin of the
electron. Interest in spintronics is encouraged by replacing the charge with spin. Therefore, it
is important to understand the history and quantum mechanics of spin. In the next two lectures,
we shall discuss
1. the early history of spin,
2. the understanding of spin from quantum mechanical point of view, and
Early history of spin:
In 1925, an American scientist Ralph De Laer Kronig based on the anomalous Zeeman Effect
postulated that in addition to the orbital angular momentum, an electron has an additional
angular momentum caused by spinning about its own axis and the angular momentum
associated with this self-rotation has a fixed magnitude of (1/2)ħ. However, the spin of an
electron was already accidently measured in the famous Stern-Gerlach experiment, which is
the turning point event in the history of spin. Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach in Frankfurt,
Germany designed an experimental set up as shown in Figure 2.1 to verify the concepts of
spin.

Figure 2.1: Schematic arrangement of Stern-Gerlach experimental set up [1].

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A narrow beam of neutral atoms coming from an oven, after passing through collimating slits,
is allowed to pass through a non-uniform magnetic field directed along the z-axis and finally
fall on a collecting plate. The non-uniform magnetic field is produced by specially designed
pole pieces of an electromagnetc as shown in Figure 2.1(b). The upper pole piece is in the form
of a knife edge and the lower one has a channel cut in it parallel to the knife edge. This provides
a field gradient in the z-direction. When no magnetic field is applied, the beam produces a
single trace on the collecting plate as shown in Figure 2.2(a). On the other hand, the trace splits
distinctly into more than one trace after switching on the field. In order to understand the
observed behavior, we shall first focus on the theory of the experiment.

Figure 2.2: Distribution of silver atoms observed on a screen.

Now, each atom consists of orbital angular momenta and hence magnetic moments. If μ is the
resultant magnetic moment of the atom, and B is the applied magnetic field then the potential
energy of the atom in the field is

If space quantization of angular momentum does not exist, the L vectors for different
atoms could be pointing in different directions in an arbitrary manner.
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2. Draw the schematic arrangement of stern-Gerlach experimental setup.

Figure 2.1: Schematic arrangement of Stern-Gerlach experimental set up [1].

3. Give your idea about distribution of silver atom observe on a screen of stern-Gerlach
experimental setup.

A narrow beam of neutral atoms coming from an oven, after passing through collimating slits,
is allowed to pass through a non-uniform magnetic field directed along the z-axis and finally
fall on a collecting plate. The non-uniform magnetic field is produced by specially designed
pole pieces of an electromagnetc as shown in Figure 2.1(b). The upper pole piece is in the form
of a knife edge and the lower one has a channel cut in it parallel to the knife edge. This provides
a field gradient in the z-direction. When no magnetic field is applied, the beam produces a
single trace on the collecting plate as shown in Figure 2.2(a). On the other hand, the trace splits
distinctly into more than one trace after switching on the field. In order to understand the
observed behavior, we shall first focus on the theory of the experiment.

Figure 2.2: Distribution of silver atoms observed on a screen.

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Now, each atom consists of orbital angular momenta and hence magnetic moments. If μ is the
resultant magnetic moment of the atom, and B is the applied magnetic field then the potential
energy of the atom in the field is

If space quantization of angular momentum does not exist, the L vectors for different
atoms could be pointing in different directions in an arbitrary manner.

4. What do you mean by quantum mechanics of spin?

New quantum theory based on Heisenberg's discovery of matrix mechanics and
Schrödinger's discovery of wave mechanics not only predict quantization of energy and
provide a prescription to determine the energy difference between the levels, but also
allows one to calculate the probability of transition between different quantized energy
states. In wave mechanics, the Schrödinger equation for a single particle tells us how
the wavefunction evolves in time and space. It canbe expressed as

where ψ(r) is the wavefunction. The equation with 'hats' are unit vectors along the
coordinate axes.
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5)What do you mean by spin-orbital interaction?

The spin-orbit interaction (also called spin-orbit effect or spin-orbit coupling) refers to
interactions of a particle's spin with its motion. This interaction causes shifts in an electron's
atomic energy levels due to electromagnetic interaction between the electron spin and the
nucleus magnetic field. A similar effect, due to the relationship between angular momentum
and the strong nuclear force occurs for protons and neutrons moving inside the nucleus. In the
field of spintronics, one of the major mechanisms that determine the spin relaxation time is the
spin-orbit interaction. Hence, it is important to understand the spin-orbit interaction in details,
as it forms the basis of many spin-based devices.
What is spin-orbit interaction?

The self-rotation of a charged particle about its own axis will give rise to a magnetic moment.
The American physicist Kronig took this concept and used relativistic mechanics to derive the
interaction between the magnetic moment and the orbital angular momentum of an electron in
an atom.

6)Derive the theoretical equation of spin-orbital interaction

The spin-orbit interaction (also called spin-orbit effect or spin-orbit coupling) refers to
interactions of a particle's spin with its motion. This interaction causes shifts in an electron's
atomic energy levels due to electromagnetic interaction between the electron spin and the
nucleus magnetic field. A similar effect, due to the relationship between angular momentum
and the strong nuclear force occurs for protons and neutrons moving inside the nucleus. In the
field of spintronics, one of the major mechanisms that determine the spin relaxation time is the
spin-orbit interaction. Hence, it is important to understand the spin-orbit interaction in details,
as it forms the basis of many spin-based devices.
What is spin-orbit interaction?
The self-rotation of a charged particle about its own axis will give rise to a magnetic moment.
The American physicist Kronig took this concept and used relativistic mechanics to derive the
interaction between the magnetic moment and the orbital angular momentum of an electron in
an atom.


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 Figure 4.1: Schematic drawing of an electron orbiting around the nucleus.

The negatively charged electron in an atom orbiting around the nucleus (see Figure 4.1) feels
the electric field due to the positively charged nucleus. As a result, a magnetic field will appear
in the rest frame of the electron as follows: If we sit on the electron, the proton will appear to
rotate around us and create a circular loop of current I as given by,

..........

where, v is velocity of proton moving on circular orbit, T is the period of rotation, and R is the
radius of the circular orbit. According to Biot-Savart's law, the magnetic flux density at a
distance x along the line passing through the center of the proton orbit and perpendicular to the
plane of the orbit is given by,

........

So, in the plane of the orbit, where x = 0, the eqn.(2) turns out to be

In addition, it is known that c2=1/(μ0ε0), where μ0 is permeability of free space and ε0 is

permittivity of free space, Hence, we get,
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Eqn.(4) can be written in a vectorial form in the rest frame of the electron as

.........

where, the factor ½ is the Thomas correction factor [1]. The electron in a rotating orbit is
constantly accelerating because the direction of the velocity is changing with time, even though
the magnitude is not changing. Therefore, it is not enough to transform the laboratory frame to
the rest frame using the electron's instantaneous velocity. On the other hand, an observer in the
electron's rest frame finds that an additional rotation is required to align the observer's
coordinate axes with the ones obtained by Lorentz transforming the laboratory frame. Hence,
the additional factor 2 is needed to be introduced when the above fact is taken into account [1].
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7) Write down the Schrodinger equation with necessary notation.

The solution to this equation is a wave that describes the quantum

aspects of a system. However, physically interpreting the wave is
one of the main philosophical problems of quantum mechanics.

The solution to the equation is based on the method of Eigen

Values devised by Fourier. This is where any mathematical function
is expressed as the sum of an infinite series of other periodic
functions. The trick is to find the correct functions that have the
right amplitudes so that when added together by superposition
they give the desired solution.

8) Define rashba interaction.

In solids, a quasi-free electron in the conduction band does not experience the strong nuclear
attraction seen in an atom. However, it may still experience an electric field (or potential
gradient) due to the internal effects. If there is a strong electric field due to internal potential
gradient or due to an externally applied electric field, then this field will induce a spin-orbit
interaction, as given by eqn.(15). As the problem was examined by E.I. Rashba, the interaction
is named as Rashba interaction. This is also referred to as spin-orbit interaction due to structural
inversion asymmetry, since an external and/or internal electric field is
responsible for this interaction.
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(ii). Dresselhaus Interaction:

Another type of internal electric field may arise due to crystallographic inversion symmetry
in a crystal. This problem was examined by G. Dresselhaus around 1955 and the associated
spin-orbit interaction is named as Dresselhaus interaction.

The Shrodinger equation is:

The solution to this equation is a wave that describes the quantum

aspects of a system. However, physically interpreting the wave is
one of the main philosophical problems of quantum mechanics.

The solution to the equation is based on the method of Eigen

Values devised by Fourier. This is where any mathematical function
is expressed as the sum of an infinite series of other periodic
functions. The trick is to find the correct functions that have the
right amplitudes so that when added together by superposition
they give the desired solution.
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