Study of Intrinsic Spin Hall Effect and Orbital Hall Effect in 4d- and 5d- Transition Metals

Abstract

We study the intrinsic spin Hall conductivity (SHC) in various $5d$-transition metals (Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au) and 4d-transition metals (Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, and Ag) based on the Naval Research Laboratory tight-binding model, which enables us to perform quantitatively reliable analysis. In each metal, the obtained intrinsic SHC is independent of resistivity in the low resistive regime ($ρ< 50 μΩ\text{cm}$) whereas it decreases in proportion to $ρ^{-2}$ in the high resistive regime. In the low resistive regime, the SHC takes a large positive value in Pt and Pd, both of which have approximately nine $d$-electrons per ion ($n_d=9$). On the other hand, the SHC takes a large negative value in Ta, Nb, W, and Mo where $n_d<5$. In transition metals, a conduction electron acquires the trajectory-dependent phase factor that originates from the atomic wavefunction. This phase factor, which is reminiscent of the Aharonov-Bohm phase, is the origin of the SHC in paramagnetic metals and that of the anomalous Hall conductivity in ferromagnetic metals. Furthermore, each transition metal shows huge and positive $d$-orbital Hall conductivity (OHC), independently of the strength of the spin-orbit interaction (SOI). Since the OHC is much larger than the SHC, it will be possible to realize a {\it orbitronics device} made of transition metals.

17 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, resubmitted to Physical Review B