Spin-Orbit Interaction and Isotropic Electronic Transport in Graphene

Abstract

Broken symmetries in graphene affect the massless nature of its charge carriers. We present an analysis of scattering by defects in graphene in the presence of spin-orbit interactions (SOIs). A characteristic constant ratio (≃2) of the transport to elastic times for massless electrons signals the anisotropy of the scattering. We show that SOIs lead to a drastic decrease of this ratio, especially at low carrier concentrations, while the scattering becomes increasingly isotropic. As the strength of the SOI determines the energy (carrier concentration) where this drop is more evident, this effect could help evaluate these interactions through transport measurements in graphene systems with enhanced spin-orbit coupling.