  We study the spin relaxation torque in nonmagnetic or ferromagnetic metals
with nonuniform spin-orbit coupling within the Keldysh Green's function
formalism. In non-magnet, the relaxation torque is shown to arise when the
spin-orbit coupling is not uniform. In the absence of an external field, the
spin current induced by the relaxation torque is proportional to the vector
chirality of Rashba-type spin-orbit field (RSOF). In the presence of an
external field, on the other hand, spin relaxation torque arises from the
coupling of the external field and vector chirality of RSOF. Our result
indicates that spin-sink or source effects are controlled by designing RSOF in
junctions.
