Relativistic effects and fully spin-polarized Fermi surface at the Tl/Si(111) surface

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of the relativistic electronic structure and the momentum-dependent spin-polarization of the Tl/Si(111) surface. Our first-principle calculations reveal the existence of fully spin-polarized electron pockets associated to the huge spin-splitting of metallic surface bands. The calculated spin-polarization shows a very complex structure in the reciprocal space, strongly departing from simple theoretical model approximations. Interestingly, the electronic spin-state close to the Fermi surface is polarized along the surface perpendicular direction and reverses its orientation between different electron pockets.