Inverse Orbital Torque via Spin-Orbital Intertwined States

While current-induced torque by orbital current has been experimentally found in various structures, evidence for its reciprocity has been missing so far. Here, we report experimental evidence of strong inverse orbital torque in YIG/Pt/CuOx (YIG = Y3Fe5O12) mediated by spin-orbital mixed electronic states in Pt. By injecting spin current from YIG to Pt by the spin pumping via ferromagnetic resonance and by the spin Seebeck effect, we find a pronounced inverse spin Hall effectlike signal. While a part of the signal is explained as being due to the inverse spin-orbital Hall effect in Pt, we also find a substantial increase of the signal in YIG/Pt/CuOx structures compared to the signal in YIG/Pt. We attribute this to the inverse orbital Rashba-Edelstein effect at the Pt/CuOx interface mediated by the spin-orbital coupled states in Pt. Our work paves the way toward understanding of spin-orbital intertwined physics in nonequilibrium and provides a way for electrical detection of the orbital current in orbitronic device applications.

Automated summary

In this study, experimental evidence of strong inverse orbital torque in YIG/Pt/CuOx is reported, which is mediated by spin-orbital mixed electronic states in Pt. By injecting spin current from YIG to Pt, a pronounced inverse spin Hall effect-like signal is observed. The signal is partially explained by the inverse spin-orbital Hall effect in Pt, but a substantial increase is also found in YIG/Pt/CuOx structures compared to YIG/Pt, which is attributed to the inverse orbital Rashba-Edelstein effect at the Pt/CuOx interface mediated by the spin-orbital coupled states in Pt. This work contributes to the understanding of spin-orbital intertwined physics in nonequilibrium and provides a way for electrical detection of the orbital current in orbitronic device applications.