Energy spectra of two interacting fermions with spin-orbit coupling in a harmonic trap

Abstract

We explore the two-body spectra of spin-$1/2$ fermions in isotropic harmonic traps with external spin-orbit potentials and short range two-body interactions. Using a truncated basis of total angular momentum eigenstates, non-perturbative results are presented for experimentally realistic forms of the spin-orbit coupling: a pure Rashba coupling, Rashba and Dresselhaus couplings in equal parts, and a Weyl-type coupling. The technique is easily adapted to bosonic systems and other forms of spin-orbit coupling.