Interplay of spin-orbit and Aharonov-Bohm effects in Kondo quantum dots

Sergio Ulloa

Ohio University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Athens, USA

We study the transport properties of quantum dot systems embedded in rings in the presence of spin-orbit interactions and magnetic fluxes. Using numerical renormalization group techniques to study the system in the Kondo regime, we find that the competition of Aharonov-Bohm and spin-orbit dynamical phases induces a strong suppression of the Kondo state singlet, somewhat akin to an effective intrinsic magnetic field in the system. This effective field breaks the spin degeneracy of the localized state and produces a finite magnetic moment in the dot. By introducing an in-plane Zeeman field we show that the Kondo resonance can be fully restored, reestablishing the spin singlet and a desired spin filtering behavior in the Kondo regime, which may result in full spin polarization of the current through the ring.

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