Eur. Phys. J. B (2012) 85: 22
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2011-20615-x

Regular Article

Persistent spin splitting of a two-dimensional electron gas in tilted magnetic fields

National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, Philippines

^a e-mail: rayda.gammag@gmail.com

Received: 26 July 2011
Received in final form: 27 October 2011
Published online: 18 January 2012

Abstract

By varying the orientation of the applied magnetic field with respect to the normal of a two-dimensional electron gas, the chemical potential and the specific heat reveal persistent spin splitting in all field ranges. The corresponding shape of the thermodynamic quantities distinguishes whether the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI), the Zeeman term or both dominate the splitting. The interplay of the tilting of the magnetic field and RSOI resulted to an amplified splitting even in weak fields. The effects of changing the RSOI strength and the Landau level broadening are also investigated.