Universal spin-induced time reversal symmetry breaking in two-dimensional electron gases with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We have experimentally studied the spin-induced time reversal symmetry (TRS) breaking as a function of the relative strength of the Zeeman energy (E-Z) and the Rashba spin-orbit interaction energy (E-SOI), in InGaAs-based 2D electron gases. We find that the TRS breaking, and hence the associated dephasing time tau(phi)(B), saturates when E-Z becomes comparable to E-SOI. Moreover, we show that the spin-induced TRS breaking mechanism is a universal function of the ratio E-Z/E-SOI, within the experimental accuracy.