Spin and charge transport on the surface of a topological insulator

We derive diffusion equations, which describe spin-charge coupled transport on the helical metal surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator. The main feature of these equations is a large magnitude of the spin-charge coupling, which leads to interesting and observable effects. In particular, we predict a new magnetoresistance effect, which manifests in a non-Ohmic correction to a voltage drop between a ferromagnetic spin-polarized electrode and a nonmagnetic electrode, placed on top of the helical metal. This correction is proportional to the cross product of the spin polarization of the ferromagnetic electrode and the charge current between the two electrodes. We also demonstrate tunability of this effect by applying a gate voltage, which makes it possible to operate the proposed device as a transistor.