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Electron-electron scattering and transport properties of spin-orbit coupled electron gas
We calculate the electrical and thermal conductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas with strong spin-orbit
coupling in which the scattering is dominated by electron-electron collisions. Despite the apparent absence of
Galilean invariance in the system, the two-particle scattering does not affect the electrical conductivity above
the band-crossing point where both helicity bands are filled. Below the band-crossing point where one helicity
band is empty, switching on the electron-electron scattering leads only to a limited decrease in the electrical
conductivity so that its high-temperature value is independent of the scattering intensity. In contrast to this,
thermal conductivity is not strongly affected by the spin-orbit coupling and exhibits only a kink as the Fermi
level passes through the band-crossing point.