Spin-current induced mechanical torque in a chiral molecular junction

Abstract

We analyse the appearance of a mechanical torque that acts on a chiral molecule: a single-stranded DNA, in which the spin-orbit interaction is expected to induce a spin-selectivity effect. The mechanical torque is shown to appear as a result of the non-conservation of the spin current in the presence of the spin-orbit interaction. Adopting a simple microscopic model Hamiltonian for a chiral molecule connected to source and drain leads, and accounting for the mechanical torque acting on the chiral molecule as the back action on the electrons traversing the molecule, we derive the spin continuity-equation. It connects the spin current expressed by a Landauer-type formula and the mechanical torque. Thus, by injecting a spin-polarized current from the source electrode, it is possible to generate a torque, which will rotate the DNA molecule.

11 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (7)

• Spin-dependent transport through a chiral molecule in the presence of spin-orbit interaction and non-unitary effects
• Spin-Dependent Electron Transmission Model for Chiral Molecules in Mesoscopic Devices
• Non-Abelian gauge field theory of the spin-orbit interaction and a perfect spin filter
• A proof of the Kramers degeneracy of transmission eigenvalues from antisymmetry of the scattering matrix
• Strain-Induced Coupling of Spin Current to Nanomechanical Oscillations
• Spin filtering in all-electrical three-terminal interferometers
• Fluctuation Theorem for a Small Engine and Magnetization Switching by Spin Torque

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Spin selectivity through time-reversal symmetric helical junctions
• On the definition of chirality and enantioselective fields
• Chirality-induced Phonon-Spin Conversion at an Interface
• Spin-orbit interaction and spin selectivity for tunneling electron transfer in DNA
• Chiral cavity induced spin selectivity
• Spin-filtering in a $p$-orbital helical atomic chain
• Mind the Gap: From Resolving Theoretical Foundations of Chiral(ity)-Induced Spin Selectivity to Pioneering Implementations in Quantum Sensing
• Interatomic spin-orbit interaction in a $p$-orbital helical atomic chain
• Chirality Induced Propagation Velocity Asymmetry