Spin channel counting in a transmission trace Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-11-05
In the Landauer formula, when the flux-normalized transmission matrix includes every incident spin channel. The trace already sums both spin states if both are represented; multiplying this expression by another factor of two would count them twice.
For a Hamiltonian independent of spin with two identical, uncoupled spin sectors, one may instead calculate a single sector and write . For example, one perfectly transmitted spatial mode gives with both sectors present, and when only one sector propagates. With spin-orbit coupling, keep the full matrix even when its eigenchannels have no definite spin projection.