Photomagnetic-Chiral Anisotropy mediated by Chirality-Driven Asymmetric Spin Splitting

Abstract

Photomagnetic effects (PMEs), intrinsic to transition metals, arises from the interaction between light-induced angular momentum and electronic spin. These effects are suppressed in noble metals with high symmetry and electron density. Introducing chiral structures can induce photomagnetic-chiral anisotropy (PM-ChA) of metals by linking chirality and spin dynamics. However, a theoretical explain remains elusive. Here, we investigated the mechanism of PM-ChA in tetrahelix-stacked chiral nanostructured gold chains (CNACs) using first-principles calculations. Non-equilibrium Green' s function calculations reveal that chiral potentials enhance spin channel asymmetry by amplifying spin-orbit coupling (SOC)-induced spin splitting. Real-time time-dependent density functional theory simulations further identify SOC as the bridge connecting chiral spintronics to PME, where chirality-driven spin flips from asymmetric geometries generate opposing photomagnetic fields in materials of different handedness. These findings are consistent with experimental observations in chiral nanostructured gold films and provide a theoretical instruction for design metallic spintronic devices.

22 pages, 19 figures

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