Spin and impurity effects on flux-periodic oscillations in core-shell nanowires

We study the quantum mechanical states of electrons situated on a cylindrical surface of finite axial length to model a semiconductor core-shell nanowire. We calculate the conductance in the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field by weakly coupling the cylinder to semi-infinite leads. Spin effects are accounted for through Zeeman coupling and Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI). Emphasis is on manifestations of flux-periodic oscillations and we show how factors such as impurities, contact geometry, and spin affect them. Oscillations survive and remain periodic in the presence of impurities, noncircular contacts, and SOI, while Zeeman splitting results in aperiodicity, beating patterns, and additional background fluctuations. Our results are in qualitative agreement with recent magnetotransport experiments performed on GaAs/InAs core-shell nanowires. Lastly, we propose methods of data analysis for detecting the presence of Rashba SOI in core-shell systems and for estimating the electron g factor in the shell.