Magnetization dynamics induced by in-plane currents in ultrathin magnetic nanostructures with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Abstract

Recent experiments on ultrathin magnetic layers with broken inversion symmetry reported anomalous current-driven magnetization dynamics. We show that the spin-transfer torque can be significantly modified by Rashba spin-orbit coupling and the modified spin-transfer torque can explain the anomalous magnetization dynamics. This work will be valuable for the development of next generation spintronic devices based on ultrathin magnetic systems.