Quantum transport in the presence of a chiral molecular potential
We investigate quantum transport in a two-dimensional electron system coupled to a chiral molecular potential, demonstrating how molecular chirality and orientation affect charge and spin transport properties. We propose a minimal model for realizing true chiral symmetry breaking on a magnetized surface, with a crucial role played by the tilt angle of the molecular dipole with respect to the surface. For non-zero tilting, we show that the Hall response exhibits clear signatures of chirality-induced effects, in both charge- and spin-resolved observables. Concerning the former, tilted enantiomers produce asymmetric Hall conductances and, even more remarkably, the persistence of this feature in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) signals how the enantiospecific charge response results from electron scattering off the molecular potential. Concerning spin-resolved observables where SOC plays a relevant role, we reveal that chiral symmetry breaking is crucial in enabling spin-flipping processes.
Authors
- Mikhail Lemeshko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6990-7802)
- Alberto Cappellaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6110-2359)
- Ragheed Alhyder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0853-0714)
Institutions
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (AT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Chemical Physics
- Published
- 2025-06-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0271155
- Primary Topic
- Quantum and electron transport phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Australian Academy of Science
- HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council