Electron Hydrodynamics by Spin Hall Effect

Abstract

Electron hydrodynamics is currently known to emerge only when electron-electron interaction dominates over the momentum-nonconserving scatterings of electrons, where the electron transport is described by a hydrodynamic equation. Here we show that electron transport in electron systems with the spin Hall effect is also given by the hydrodynamic equation, whose kinetic viscosity is determined by the spin diffusion length and the transport lifetime. The electric current vorticity is proportional to the spin accumulation due to the spin Hall effect in two-dimensional systems. We demonstrate by solving the hydrodynamic equation in a two-dimensional system with a cavity, combined with micromagnetic simulation for an attached chiral magnetic insulator, that the spin accumulated near the boundary of the cavity creates a magnetic skyrmion. Our findings and demonstration shed light on a novel aspect of electron hydrodynamics and spin transport.