Chiral control of electron transmission through molecules.

Electron transmission through chiral molecules induced by circularly polarized light can be very different for mirror-image structures, a peculiar fact given that the electronic energy spectra of the systems are identical. We propose that this asymmetry--as large as 10% for resonant transport--arises from different dynamical responses of the mirrored structures to coherent excitation. This behavior is described in the context of a general novel phenomenon of current transfer (transfer of charge with its momentum information) and accounts for the observed asymmetry and its dependence on structure.

Duke Scholars

Author David N. Beratan Chemistry