title: Control of Spin Helix Symmetry in Semiconductor Quantum Wells by Crystal Orientation.
abstract: We investigate the possibility of spin-preserving symmetries due to the interplay of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling in n-doped zinc-blende semiconductor quantum wells of general crystal orientation. It is shown that a conserved spin operator can be realized if and only if at least two growth direction Miller indices agree in modulus. The according spin-orbit field has in general both in-plane and out-of-plane components and is always perpendicular to the shift vector of the corresponding persistent spin helix. We also analyze higher-order effects arising from the Dresselhaus term, and the impact of our results on weak (anti)localization corrections.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kammermeier
authors.affiliation: Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wenk
authors.affiliation: Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schliemann