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Updated: Jun 25, 2025

08:51
Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers
Published on: August 18, 2017
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Chirality-Driven Orbital Angular Momentum and Circular Dichroism in CoSi
Stefanie Suzanne Brinkman1, Xin Liang Tan1,2,3, Bjørnulf Brekke1
1Center for Quantum Spintronics, Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
Physical Review Letters
|May 28, 2024
Summary
Chiral crystals like CoSi exhibit unique orbital textures and momentum locking, driven by their handedness. This discovery opens new avenues for spin-orbitronics applications.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Quantum Chemistry
Background:
- Chiral crystals and molecules are theoretically predicted to host unconventional orbital physics.
- The cubic B20 family of chiral crystals, including CoSi, are key candidates for exploring these phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To observe and characterize chirality-driven orbital textures in the bulk electronic structure of CoSi.
- To investigate the relationship between crystal handedness and electronic properties.
Main Methods:
- Soft X-ray Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (XARPES) with circular dichroism.
- Measurement of differential photoemission signals to probe chiral electron states.
Main Results:
- Observation of a bulk orbital-angular-momentum texture in CoSi.
- Demonstration of monopolelike orbital-momentum locking dependent on crystal handedness.
- Introduction and application of intrinsic chiral circular dichroism (icCD) as a probe.
Conclusions:
- Chiral crystals possess distinct orbital textures and momentum locking effects.
- Intrinsic chiral circular dichroism (icCD) is an effective tool for studying chiral electronic states.
- Chiral crystals are promising for future spin-orbitronics applications.
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