Impact of spin-orbit coupling on orbital diamagnetism in a narrow-gap semiconductorPb1-xSnxTe

We study the influence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on orbital magnetism inPb1-xSnxTe, a narrow-gap semiconductor. Using theπ-matrix method, we calculate material-specific Landau levels and evaluate the magnetization, fully including interband effects. The system exhibits diamagnetism for bothx = 0 andx = 0.35, with the latter showing a stronger response due to its smaller gap. The magnitude of diamagnetism increases monotonically with SOC strength, particularly in strong magnetic fields. To clarify the underlying mechanism, we introduce the free-Zeeman-Dirac model and fit its parameters to the calculated Landau levels. The analysis reveals that SOC enhances the Dirac-type interband contribution relative to the Zeeman term, leading to increased diamagnetism. These results demonstrate that SOC can play a key role in orbital magnetism through interband effects.