# Hidden spin-current conservation in 2⁢𝑑 Fermi liquids

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## Abstract

We report the existence of regimes of the two dimensional Fermi liquid that show unusual conservation of the spin current and may be tuned by varying some parameter like the density of fermions. We show that for reasonable models of the effective interaction the spin current may be conserved in general in $`2d`$, not only for a particular regime. Low temperature spin waves propagate distinctively in these regimes and entirely new “spin-acoustic” modes are predicted for scattering-dominated temperature ranges. These new high-temperature propagating spin waves provide a clear signature for the experimental search of such regimes.

PACS numbers: 71.10.Ay,67.80.Jd,67.90.+z,73.50.-h

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Fermi-liquid theory (FLT) was first introduced by Landau and further developed to include spin waves a long time ago. The progress of FLT in $`3d`$ revealed that it is one of the broader theories in condensed matter physics, explaining the experimental results of a wide range of different systems. Recently, interest in FLT re-gained momentum, driven in part by the discovery of high temperature superconductors and also by the refinement of experimental techniques in low dimensional physics. While many results on the (ab)normal phases of the former allows one interpretation that casts doubts on the validity of FLT in $`2d`$, the latter has been consolidating a source of examples of practical $`2d`$ systems that behave as predicted by $`2d`$ FLT, as it can be appreciated in the experiments reported in <sup>3</sup>He films. This seems also to be the case for doped semiconductors, where thickness and doping can be controlled. Experiments on these charged systems have directly observed expected $`2d`$ Fermi liquid behavior in GaAs heterostructures. This comes from extracting the quasi-particle life times from the tunneling peaks in the current-voltage profile of two biased $`2d`$ doped semiconductor contacts with a quantum well between them. The result is the one predicted by $`2d`$ FLT.

Spin waves were observed in bulk alkali metals some three decades ago by conduction-electron spin resonance (CESR) techniques, confirming the predictions of FLT. Later, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in bulk <sup>3</sup>He, Ref. confirmed the existence of the Leggett-Rice effect predicted formerly. The suppression of the Leggett-Rice effect was also indirectly observed for a particular region of the parameter space in bulk <sup>3</sup>He-<sup>4</sup>He mixtures, which was pointed out in Ref. All these results agree with the known fact that spin-current is not conserved in $`3d`$. The majority of these experiments were not repeated for $`2d`$ systems up to this date.

The central purpose of this Letter is to present exact results indicating that spin-current may be a conserved quantity in $`2d`$ Fermi liquids, at least for some regions of the parameter space. We will see that for microscopic models that assume short range potentials for the effective interaction, spin-current conservation holds for the entire parameter space, so that such models validate the bold statement that spin current is conserved in $`2d`$ (not only at particular regimes). This is rather compelling since our results are for the spin channel, and the transition from short to long range in the charge channel should not essentially modify the physics presented here, provided one has no broken symmetries. We also calculate the dispersions of transverse spin-waves under this “spin-space Galilean invariance” and find that experimental observation of these new collective modes will show rather distinct features that make such regimes easy to identify. Before proceeding, we should like to give a precise meaning for $`2d`$ in the context of this article. Let us estabilish that the system is $`2d`$ whenever one of its $`3`$ dimensions is comparable to or less than the quasiparticle’s typical wavelength.

At low temperatures, the phase space available for scattering in $`3d`$ is a spherical shell and the incoming momenta are not in general co-planar with the outgoing pair. As a result, the value of the spin current carried by two quasiparticles with anti-parallel spins (singlet channel), before and after they collide are not related, $`𝐣_{in}\sigma _1𝐩_1+\sigma _2𝐩_2=𝐩_1𝐩_2𝐣_{out}=𝐩_3𝐩_4`$, where $`1,2`$ and $`3,4`$ refer to incoming and outgoing momenta. If $`𝐪`$ is the total exchange of momentum in the collision, we can write $`𝐣_{out}=𝐣_{in}+𝐪(\varphi )`$, where $`\varphi `$ is the angle between the scattering planes. While the triplet channel conserves spin current trivially, the two scattering processes in the singlet channel are completely accounted for by fixing the spins on all momenta and varying $`\varphi `$. One can turn from small momentum exchange, near $`\varphi =0`$ (forward), continuously into large $`q2k_F`$, near $`\varphi =\pi `$ (backward). Since $`𝐣_{out}`$ points in a random direction relative to $`𝐣_{in}`$, we can say that the spins “walk” randomly throughout the system and hence spin transport is diffusive. In $`2d`$, however, due to the reduced phase space, one is left with only three possibilities, $`𝐣_{out}=𝐣_{in},`$ $`𝐣_{out}=𝐣_{in},`$ and $`𝐣_{in}(𝐤=0)𝐣_{out}(𝐤=0),`$ where $`𝐤`$ is the total momentum. This latter region of the phase space brings no contributions to the scattering integral to leading order in temperature. In fact, as we see below, the scattering amplitude for $`𝐤=0`$ processes is zero in a regime that conserves spin-current, so that we are left with only two scattering processes: forward that conserves spin current and backward that flips the direction of spin current. Hence, spin-current is not conserved in $`2d`$ as long as the balance between two clearly distinguishable processes remains.

To study the circumstances that allow this balance to break in such a way as to favor spin-current conservation, we consider a planar Fermi liquid with a weak magnetization perpendicular to the plane and whose gradient is such that $`M=|M|\widehat{z}`$, where $`\widehat{z}`$ is an in-plane unit vector. The scattering integral for the Landau kinetic equation of FLT in $`2d`$ can in general be expanded in circular harmonics, $`\psi _l(x)`$ ,

$`I[n_{𝐩\sigma }]={\displaystyle \underset{l}{}}I_l\psi _l(𝐩\widehat{z}),`$

where the amplitudes depend on the quasiparticle energy. For spin-diffusion processes, while $`I_0=0`$ due to spin conservation in collisions, the symmetry of the distribution function implies that all but the first higher order angular contributions are small enough so that we can write $`I_l=I_1\delta _{l1}`$. In $`2d`$ this dominant amplitude can be written explicitly in terms of the low-frequency four point vertex function $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ at $`k=0`$ and $`k=2k_F`$,

$`I_1=C\left[u_1(x_𝐩)S+u_2(x_𝐩)\left|\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0\right|^2\right],`$ (1)   
where

$`C\sigma |M|\left({\displaystyle \frac{T}{T_F}}\right)^2\left|ln\left({\displaystyle \frac{T}{T_F}}\right)\right|,`$

$`S={\displaystyle \underset{spins,k=0,2k_F}{}}\left|\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\sigma _1\sigma _2\sigma _3\sigma _4}^k\right|^2\delta _{\sigma _1+\sigma _2,\sigma _3+\sigma _4},`$

and $`u_i`$ are functions of the normalized energy $`x_𝐩=(ϵ_𝐩\mu )/k_BT`$. Equation (1) yields

$$\underset{\sigma 𝐩}{}\sigma 𝐩I[n_{𝐩\sigma }]\left|\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0\right|^2.$$
(2)   
This result comes from the vanishing of the term proportional to $`S`$ in Eq.(1) under energy integration. Details will be presented elsewhere but they follow from a similar analysis of the scattering integral in $`2d`$ found in Refs. and . The fact that in $`2d`$ one can write exact expressions in terms of the Landau parameters for the vertex part  yields closed expressions in terms of this function at particular points of the phase space. It is clear from Eq.(2) that spin current is conserved exactly if $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$. In the same spirit, the diffusion coefficient may also be expressed in terms of the vertex part for a weakly polarized Fermi liquid, and when $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$ it diverges, as it should be if spin current is conserved.

To see that $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0`$ may in fact be zero, we start with a dilute-gas result that gives $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{tmatrix}^{k=0}=0`$. This result comes from re-summing the logarithm divergences for an arbitrary spin independent short range potential, similarly to what is done in $`3d`$. This is a physically compelling starting point, since, as mentioned earlier, one does not expect the physics in the spin channel to radically change in the absence of broken symmetries for potentials with longer tails in the charge channel. We plug the t-matrix result for an arbitrary $`𝐤`$ in the Bethe-Salpeter equation for the vertex function and obtain $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$. This is equivalent to including contributions from RPA diagrams to all orders in the coupling constant ($`g`$) in addition to particle-particle ladder bubbles to all orders and particle-hole ladder bubbles up to second order that are included in $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{tmatrix}^k`$. Contributions from other diagrams, if not vanishing at the particular point $`k=0`$, will be small, leading to a very long diffusion relaxation time.

For this result the spin-diffusion relaxation time due to $`I_1`$ is infinite so that the symmetry due to higher order amplitudes becomes dominant. We stress that even in a more general scenario where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0`$ remains small but finite, it suffices that it is small enough to render the relaxation time associated with $`I_1`$ long compared to the scales arising from higher angular terms. Under such condition spin-current will be conserved in the relevant finite time scales, the system will relax due to a higher order process that we call “spin-viscosity” in analogy to what happens with sound.

We discussed the possibility that a new conservation exists in $`2d`$ Fermi liquids in general. This is not the only possibility. We now turn to a more phenomenological analysis of particular regimes that conserve spin-current in $`2d`$. This is based on the fact that the condition for $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$, if not valid in general in $`2d`$, can be achieved by tuning appropriate values of the Landau parameters. To be more specific, let $`a`$ be the Greens’ function quasiparticle residue and $`N(0)`$ the density of states at the Fermi surface. For a $`2d`$ Fermi liquid we can write

$$N^2(0)a^2|\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0|^2=\left[\underset{l=\mathrm{}}{\overset{+\mathrm{}}{}}(1)^lc_lA_l^a\right]^2,$$
(3)   
where $`A_l^a`$ are the antisymmetric scattering amplitudes, that relate to the Landau coefficients through $`A_l^a=F_l^a/(1+c_lF_l^a)`$, and $`c_l=1/(2|l|+1)`$. A quick technical remark about our choice of the $`2d`$ basis will avoid confusion. We choose $`\psi _l(𝐩\widehat{z})=c_le^{il\theta }`$. This shifted basis leads mostly to formulas that look identical to their $`3d`$ counterparts, and is only a matter of convenience. We see from Eq.(3) that regions of the parameter space that conserve spin current exactly are tuned when $`c_lA_l^a=2^{\delta _{l0}}c_{l+1}A_{l+1}^a`$, for $`l=0,2,4,\mathrm{}`$, $`c_lA_l^a=2^{\delta _{l0}}c_{l+3}A_{l+3}^a`$, for $`l=0,1,2,\mathrm{}`$, and an infinite number of other possibilities. One can also keep only the first few scattering amplitudes following another dilute-gas calculation for which the $`n`$-th Landau coefficient is proportional to $`g^n`$. One then finds that $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$ for specific combinations of the Landau parameters. For instance, when the first two Landau parameters are such that $`F_0^a=2F_1^a/3(1F_1^a/3)`$, the contribution from the first two terms in the sum vanishes and one is left only with terms that are of order $`g^2`$ or higher. Throughout this article, the $`2d`$ coupling constant, $`g1/2ln(k_Fa_s)`$, arises from microscopic models based on short-range potentials with characteristic length $`a_s`$. One can easily verify that, for the majority of choices made to give $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$, one always finds a very reasonable value for $`g`$ (between $`0.1`$ and $`0.4`$). It is clear that these regimes may be tuned by externally varying some parameter such as the density. This particular range of the coupling constant corresponds to second-layer coverage densities between $`5`$ and $`18\times 10^{13}`$cm<sup>-2</sup> in the data from <sup>3</sup>He films on Grafoil experiments.

Given the infinite number of combinations that lead to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$, we feel compelled to investigate the signatures that should indicate the experimental tuning of such regimes in the spin-wave modes. The dispersion relations for transverse spin-waves are the simpler and broader objects that we can think of for this purpose. They may be used to figure out the form of the effective “diffusion” (in this case we should say effective “viscosity”) equivalent to the Platzman and Wolff result for charged systems so that CESR experiments can be done in electronic planes. We will hence leave the consequences on more sophisticated phenomena like the Leggett-Rice effect for future publications. Also, the detailed analysis of the dispersion relations will be published in a longer article, here we only show the results and outline the derivation.

Spin current conservation equalizes the spin and charge channels regarding the number of conserved quantities. As a consequence, we expect propagation of spin-waves to become analogous to sound propagation. This is partly true, the presence of an additional scale set by the external magnetic field keeps the propagation of spin waves distinct from sound but they present various new common features. We project out Landau kinetic equation on the $`2d`$ basis, and solve for the Fermi-surface distortions associated with transverse spin-waves in a relaxation time scheme. For $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{}^0=0`$, the relaxation time approximation is written as $`I_l=(1\delta _{l0}\delta _{l1})\omega _{\sigma \eta }`$, where we have introduced the spin-viscous relaxation time $`\omega _{\sigma \eta }^1`$. The dispersion relations are calculated for a weak but finite magnetic field such that in the long wavelength limit $`qv_F\omega _L`$, the Larmor frequency. For bulk <sup>3</sup>He this corresponds to magnetic fields between $`0.25`$ and $`1`$ Tesla. The results are,

$`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega _{l=0}={\displaystyle \frac{\alpha _0}{2\lambda \omega _L}}(qv_F)^2+\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{\alpha _1}}{\displaystyle \frac{\lambda \lambda _2}{2z}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{\alpha _0^2}{4\lambda ^3\omega _L^3}}(qv_F)^4,`$

$`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega _{l=1}=\omega _L\lambda \alpha _1+\left[1+{\displaystyle \frac{(1+\lambda _2\alpha _2)}{2(1z\alpha _2/\lambda \alpha _1)}}\right]{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha _0}{2\lambda \omega _L}}(qv_F)^2,`$

and

$`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega _{l=2}=\omega _Lz\alpha _2{\displaystyle \frac{(1+\lambda _2\alpha _2)}{2(1z\alpha _2/\lambda \alpha _1)}}{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha _0}{2\lambda \omega _L}}(qv_F)^2,`$

where $`\alpha _l=1+c_lF_l^a`$. In addition to the usual strength $`\lambda \alpha _0^1\alpha _1^1,`$ we defined $`\lambda _2\alpha _0^1\alpha _2^1`$. Here $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega =\omega \omega _L`$ and $`z\lambda _2i\omega _{\sigma \eta }/\omega _L`$. We write the lowest distortions to higher order in $`q`$ since these modes attenuate only to relative order $`q^2`$ under the new condition of spin-current conservation. A third dispersion branch emerges as a result of the higher order “spin-viscous” attenuation. We see that the quadrupolar fluctuations show similar behavior to the lower-order distortions in a non-conserving regime: it propagates at low $`T`$ and is purely damped at high $`T`$. The dipole modes, however, propagate almost undamped both at high and low $`T`$’s, showing more attenuation for intermediate temperatures. The density fluctuation propagates almost undamped and with the same dispersion for any $`T`$ to leading order in $`q`$, and is weakly damped to relative order $`q^2`$ at intermediate temperatures. Hence the $`l=0`$ and $`l=1`$ modes propagate both in the collisionless and hydrodynamic regimes. This rather unusual behavior in the propagation of the two first spin-wave modes is a direct consequence of spin current conservation and it is analogous to what happens in the propagation of sound. The ratio $`\omega _{\sigma \eta }/\omega _L`$ governs the interplay between the collisionless and hydrodynamic regimes and a peak in the attenuation occurs when $`\omega _{\sigma \eta }/\omega _L=\lambda _2`$ for both modes.

For completeness, we address some regimes of the parameter space that are of particular interest if they co-exist with conservation of spin current. We do not wish to imply here that these additional regimes exist, only to present the changes that should be expected if they do. First we look at the regime for which $`\lambda =0`$. This regime where the interaction strength changes sign was observed in bulk <sup>3</sup>He-<sup>4</sup>He mixtures,  and it is known to show a remarkable suppression of the Leggett-Rice effect. For $`\lambda =0`$, the relevant changes occur in the lowest two branches which collapse into two physically equivalent branches corresponding to sound-like spin waves propagating in opposite directions with velocity $`\alpha _0v_F/\sqrt{2}.`$ These modes propagate at any temperature to leading order in $`q`$. The attenuation in this case is of relative order $`q`$ and also presents a peak at $`\omega _{\sigma \eta }/\omega _L=\lambda _2`$. These modes are thus analogous to sound in the sense that besides having a linear dispersion they undergo a transition from a low temperature zero-sound-like regime into a hydrodynamic regime as one raises the temperature.

The region of the parameter space for which $`\lambda _2=0`$ is readily obtained and brings no additional physics if $`F_0^aF_1^a/3`$ unless for the fact that the attenuation of the $`l=0`$ mode becomes of relative order $`q^4`$. However, for $`\lambda =\lambda _2=0`$ we have the interesting new feature that the attenuation of the two lowest order distortions decrease as $`T`$ increases. This may be understood by recalling that the strength of the quasiparticles’ interactions is measured by $`\lambda `$ and $`\lambda _2`$. If both parameters are zero then no zero-sound-like modes are expected to propagate at low $`T`$. However, as scattering increases with $`T`$, spin currents are favored in a conserving regime.

In conclusion, we presented the possibility that spin-current is conserved in $`2d`$ Fermi liquids, if not in general, for some particular regimes. This is basically due to the restricted geometry combined with the degeneracy of the Fermi surface. We showed some consequences this conservation brings to the propagation of transverse spin waves in such regimes and predicted that spin waves, that are known to occur only for very low $`T`$, will propagate also in scattering dominated regimes. This is the most remarkable property of such regimes and should serve to clearly distinguish what we call “spin-viscous” relaxation processes associated with such regimes from ordinary spin-diffusion relaxation. NMR experiments probing the spin-relaxation will show sharper absorption peaks for the two lowest modes due to the weak attenuation. As one scans temperatures within the Fermi liquid regime, NMR peaks are expected to widen up to a maximum width and then to become sharp again, indicating the presence of a maximum value for the attenuation. The sole presence of a peak at higher temperatures will provide evidence for this conservation in $`2d`$. The immediate candidate systems for such experiments are helium films as the ones pointed out here. The existence of further consequences both in helium layers and in $`2d`$ Fermi systems in general is an open question.

The authors would like to thank useful discussions with A.J. Leggett. P.F.F. is also grateful to B.I. Halperin and J.R. Engelbrecht, to the hospitality and partial support of the Physics Department at Boston College, and to FAPESP, the Research Foundation of the State of São Paulo, Brazil.