Spin-polarized electron transmission in DNA-like systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates the symmetries in models of chiral molecules like DNA that influence spin selectivity, aiming to enhance understanding and control of the CISS effect.

Contribution

It provides a thorough analysis of the symmetries in helical molecular systems and explores how these symmetries can be exploited to improve spin selectivity.

Findings

Symmetry considerations are crucial for understanding CISS.

Exploiting symmetries can enhance spin polarization.

Theoretical models clarify mechanisms behind spin selectivity.

Abstract

The helical distribution of the electronic density in chiral molecules, such as DNA and bacteriorhodopsin, has been suggested to induce a spin-orbit coupling interaction that may lead to the so-called chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. Key ingredients for the theoretical modelling are, in this context, the helically shaped potential of the molecule and, concomitantly, a Rashba-like spin-orbit coupling due to the appearance of a magnetic field in the electron reference frame. Symmetries of these models clearly play a crucial role in explaining the observed effect, but a thorough analysis has been largely ignored in the literature. In this work, we present a study of these symmetries and how they can be exploited to enhance chiral-induced spin selectivity in helical molecular systems.