Chirality-controlled spin scattering through quantum interference
arXiv:2307.06201 · doi:10.1063/5.0156316
Abstract
Chirality-induced spin selectivity has been reported in many experiments, but a generally accepted theoretical explanation has not yet been proposed. Here, we introduce a simple model system of a straight cylindrical free-electron wire, containing a helical string of atomic scattering centers, with spin-orbit interaction. The advantage of this simple model is that it allows deriving analytical expressions for the spin scattering rates, such that the origin of the effect can be easily followed. We find that spin-selective scattering can be viewed as resulting from constructive interference of partial waves scattered by the spin-orbit terms. We demonstrate that forward scattering rates are independent of spin, while back scattering is spin dependent over wide windows of energy. Although the model does not represent the full details of electron transmission through chiral molecules, it clearly reveals a mechanism that could operate in chiral systems.
arXiv comment7 pages, 4 figures
References in corpus (5)
- Vibrational Origin of Exchange Splitting and Chirality Induced Spin Selectivity
- Spin-Dependent Electron Transmission Model for Chiral Molecules in Mesoscopic Devices
- Detecting chirality in two-terminal electronic devices
- Spin selectivity through chiral polyalanine monolayers on semiconductors
- A proof of the Kramers degeneracy of transmission eigenvalues from antisymmetry of the scattering matrix