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journal article·2026-05-05Open access

Current-Driven Symmetry Breaking and Spin–Orbit Polarization in Chiral Wires

Uiseok Jeong, Daniel Hill, Esmaeil Taghizadeh Sisakht, Binghai Yan, Angel Rubio, Carsten A. Ullrich, Noejung Park

ACS Nano· Volume 20· Issue 17
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Source abstract

Abstract

The spin dynamics of electrons in chiral molecular systems remains a topic of intense interest, particularly regarding whether geometric chirality inherently induces spin polarization in current-carrying electrons. In this work, we employ ab initio real-time time-dependent density functional theory (rt-TDDFT) to directly simulate the interplay among charge current, spin, and orbital. This real-time tracking extends beyond perturbative treatments, and we analyze how nonequilibrium currents effectively lift the symmetry constraints of screw rotation and time-reversal symmetry. We find that the emergence of spin and orbital angular momenta is dynamically correlated with a concomitant loss of translational (linear) momentum, which we interpret as an intrinsic consequence of current-driven symmetry lowering. The implications of this mechanism for chirality-induced spin selectivity and spintronics device design are discussed.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures · Magnetism in coordination complexes · Quantum and electron transport phenomena

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Physics, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST), UNIST-gil 50, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, 701 S College Ave, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States

Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, 201 Old Main, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States

Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Ch 149, Hamburg, Hamburg 22607, Germany

Funding

Basic Energy Sciences · National Research Foundation of Korea · Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology · Materials Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University

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