  In 1984, Bychkov and Rashba introduced a simple form of spin-orbit coupling
to explain certain peculiarities in the electron spin resonance of
two-dimensional semiconductors. Over the past thirty years, similar ideas have
been leading to a vast number of predictions, discoveries, and innovative
concepts far beyond semiconductors. The past decade has been particularly
creative with the realizations of means to manipulate spin orientation by
moving electrons in space, controlling electron trajectories using spin as a
steering wheel, and with the discovery of new topological classes of materials.
These developments reinvigorated the interest of physicists and materials
scientists in the development of inversion asymmetric structures ranging from
layered graphene-like materials to cold atoms. This review presents the most
remarkable recent and ongoing realizations of Rashba physics in condensed
matter and beyond.
