Spin accumulation in quantum wires with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Abstract

We present analytical and numerical results for the effect of Rashba spin-orbit coupling on band structure, transport, and interaction effects in quantum wires when the spin precession length is comparable to the wire width. The situation with only the lowest spin-split subbands occupied is particularly interesting because electrons close to Fermi points of the same chirality can have approximately parallel spins. We discuss consequences for spin-dependent transport and effective Tomonaga-Luttinger descriptions of interactions in the quantum wire.