English

Beyond spin-1/2: Multipolar spin-orbit coupling in noncentrosymmetric crystals with time-reversal symmetry

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2026-04-24 v3 Materials Science Strongly Correlated Electrons Superconductivity Quantum Physics

Abstract

We develop a symmetry-adapted multipolar kp\mathbf{k}\cdot\mathbf{p} theory close to the bulk Γ\Gamma point for time-reversal-symmetric, noncentrosymmetric C3vC_{3v} crystals in the strong atomic spin-orbit-coupling (jjjj-coupling) limit. Using a j{1/2,3/2,5/2}j\in\{1/2,3/2,5/2\} multiplet basis appropriate for heavy-element \textit{p}- and \textit{d}-bands, we systematically construct all symmetry-allowed spin-orbit coupling terms up to fifth order in momentum and generalize the usual spin texture to a total-angular-momentum texture. For j>1/2j>1/2, multipolar spin-orbit coupling qualitatively reshapes Fermi surfaces and makes the topology of Bloch states band dependent. This leads to anisotropic high-jj textures that go beyond a single Rashba helix. We classify these textures by their total-angular-momentum vorticity WnW_{n} for every energy band and identify distinct Wn=1,2,5|W_{n}|=1,2,5 phases. We show that their crossovers generate enhanced and nonmonotonic current-induced spin-polarization responses, namely the Edelstein effect, upon tuning the chemical potential. Our results provide a symmetry-based framework for analyzing and predicting multipolar spin-orbit coupling, total-angular-momentum textures, and spintronic responses in heavy-element materials without an inversion center.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.18449,
  title  = {Beyond spin-1/2: Multipolar spin-orbit coupling in noncentrosymmetric crystals with time-reversal symmetry},
  author = {Masoud Bahari and Kristian Mæland and Carsten Timm and Björn Trauzettel},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.18449},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

(24 pages, 7 figures, 11 tables)