Chiral orbital and spin textures, and Edelstein effects in monolayer Janus transition metal dichalcogenides
Phys. Rev. B 113, 134435 – Published 21 April, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/yccm-pwrz
Abstract
We investigate the orbital and spin Edelstein effect (OEE and SEE) in two-dimensional Janus transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) of the form ( = Mo, W, Nb; /X' = S, Se, Te) with the aid of density functional theory calculations and tight-binding model Hamiltonian studies. The chalcogen layers and break the mirror symmetry to introduce an internal electric field normal to the plane, which is responsible for OEE and SEE. Our results show that in a non-Janus framework, the wave functions at the valence and conduction bands are dominated with the , and orbitals. Due to the of the Janus system, these orbitals are now intermixed with the and orbitals to produce a robust orbital texture around the valleys , and . The spin-orbit coupling, in addition to the formation of a spin texture, introduces a chirality reversal to the orbital texture. An applied in-plane electric field creates both OEE and SEE, which are comparable in magnitude. This makes the Janus materials promising for spin orbitronics. Our work paves the way for further experimental exploration for orbital and spin-orbital torque in Janus TMDs.