Spin-dependent quantum and transport lifetimes in a two-dimensional electron or hole gas in the presence of spin–orbit interaction

A theoretical study is presented for the influence of spin–orbit interaction (SOI) induced by the Rashba effect on quantum and transport lifetimes in a two-dimensional electron or hole gas. We find that for low temperatures, the electronic transport lifetimes due to impurity scattering can differ significantly between different spin branches. In contrast, the quantum lifetimes depend very weakly on the strength of the SOI and are in line with experimental findings. For heavy holes and over a wide range of the SOI strength, the difference between transport/quantum lifetimes in different spin branches is relatively small.