Zitterbewegung-induced Spin Resonance in Quantum Wires*

Recently, the \textit{Zitterbewegung} in quantum wires was proposed theoretically by Schliemann \textit{et al.} [1]. This effect is characterized by an oscillatory motion in the position and spin components of an electron wave packet injected along the quantum wire with spin-orbit coupling. We investigate the \textit{Zitterbewegung} evaluating time dependent expectation value for the spin operators. Here we consider the \textit{Zitterbewegung} in a multi-band quantum wire with both the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. We find that an external magnetic field perpendicular to the quantum wire can be used to tune the probability of spin flip, i.e., the resonance condition. A possible experimental scenario to observe this effect is proposed using injection via a quantum point contact.\\[4pt] [1] J. Schliemann, D. Loss, and R.M. Westervelt, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{94}, 206801 (2005).