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Spin-orbit torque is one of the key phenomena in modern spintronics, which enables electric control of magnetic moments. The mechanism of the spin-orbit torque is often interpreted in terms of the spin current generated by an electric field in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. However, the electron can carry angular momentum not only by spin but also by its orbital degrees of freedom. Quite often, orbital angular momentum current can be more efficiently generated by an electric current than the spin current since it does not require spin-orbit coupling. With this consideration, we recently proposed a mechanism of torque generation based on electronic orbital angular momentum current, which is now called orbital torque. In this talk, I will explain the background and idea of the orbital torque mechanism and provide guidelines for experimental observation.
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