Edge spin accumulation: Spin Hall effect without bulk spin current

Spin accumulation in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit interaction subject to an electric field can take place without bulk spin currents (edge spin Hall effect). This is demonstrated for the collisional regime using the Boltzmann equation for the mean-free path longer than the spin-orbit length. Spin accumulation originates from interference of incident and reflected electron waves at the sample boundary.