Temperature dependence of spin-polarized electron transport including electron-electron interaction

Carrier transport is modified by electron-electron interaction in spin-polarized systems. We numerically investigated transport coefficients in a spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gas in a heterostructure of GaAs from 10 K up to room temperature in the presence of electron-electron interaction caused by the Coulomb force. Transport is modified by the exchange of momentum between spin-up and spin-down electrons through their collisions (spin drag) and also by the electron energy renormalization arising from many-electron correlations. Our calculations show that the mobility is less affected by electron-electron interaction at high temperatures, while the diffusion coefficients show complex temperature dependence caused by both spin drag and energy renormalization. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.