Spin Nernst effect in the absence of a magnetic field

Xincheng Xie, Xuele Liu

Published 2010-01-06Version 1

We study the spin Nernst effect of a mesoscopic four-terminal cross-bar device with the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in the absence of a magnetic field. The interplay between the spin Nernst effect and the seebeck coefficient is investigated for a wide range of the Rashba SOI. When no peaks appeared in the seebeck coefficient, an oscillatory spin Nernst effect still occurs. In addition, the disorder effect on the spin Nernst effect is also studied. We find that the spin Nernst effect can be enhanced up to threefold by disorder. Besides, due to the interface effect, the counter propagating of the charge current to the direction of the temperature gradient is possible for a nonuniform system.