Ballistic transport and spin-orbit interaction of two-dimensional electrons on a cylindrical surface

The components of the ballistic magnetoconductance tensor of a two-dimensional electron gas placed on a cylindrical sector are calculated for various geometries. For a quasiclassical system a method is proposed for finding the conductance based only on the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition and not requiring a knowledge of the matrix elements of the velocity. The effect of curvature of the surface on the spin-orbit interaction in a two-dimensional electron gas is investigated. As examples, the microwave absorption and longitudinal conductance of a hollow cylindrical wire are calculated, and also the conductance of a cylindrical sector. There are qualitative differences from planar systems, in particular the relative sign of the curvature and the spin-orbit coupling constant becomes important. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.