Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 3, 2025

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers
Published on: August 18, 2017
Interface-Induced Conservation of Momentum Leads to Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity
Clemens Vittmann1, R Kevin Kessing1, James Lim1
1Institut für Theoretische Physik und IQST, Universität Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89081 Ulm, Germany.
Abstract:
We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of electron transmission from a straight waveguide to a helix with spin-orbit coupling. Transmission is found to be spin-selective and can lead to large spin polarizations of the itinerant electrons. The degree of spin selectivity depends on the width of the interface region, and no polarization is found for single-point couplings. We show that this is due to momentum conservation conditions arising from extended interfaces. We therefore identify interface structure and conservation of momentum as crucial ingredients for chiral-induced spin selectivity, and we confirm that this mechanism is robust against static disorder.
Related Concept Videos
Chirality in Nature
Conservation of Angular Momentum: Application
Conservation of Angular Momentum
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
Conservation of Linear Momentum for a System of Particles
The impulsive force at play during this interaction is of extremely short duration, rendering its impulse negligible. When...
Chirality
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...

