We present a theory of the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in multilayers made from an insulating ferromagnet F, such as yttrium iron garnet (YIG), and a normal metal N with spin-orbit interactions, such as platinum (Pt). The SMR is induced by the simultaneous action of spin Hall and inverse spin Hall effects and therefore a non-equilibrium proximity phenomenon. We compute the SMR in F∣N and F∣N∣F layered systems, treating N by spin-diffusion theory with quantum mechanical boundary conditions at the interfaces in terms of the spin-mixing conductance. Our results explain the experimentally observed spin Hall magnetoresistance in N∣F bilayers. For F∣N∣F spin valves we predict an enhanced SMR amplitude when magnetizations are collinear. The SMR and the spin-transfer torques in these trilayers can be controlled by the magnetic configuration.
@article{arxiv.1302.1352,
title = {Theory of spin Hall magnetoresistance},
author = {Yan-Ting Chen and Saburo Takahashi and Hiroyasu Nakayama and Matthias Althammer and Sebastian T. B. Goennenwein and Eiji Saitoh and Gerrit E. W. Bauer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1302.1352},
year = {2013}
}