Work

Surface Magnetic Stabilization and the Photoemission Chiral-Induced Spin-Selectivity Effect

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The spinterface mechanism was suggested as a possible origin for the chirality-induced spin-selectivity (CISS) effect and was used to explain and reproduce, with remarkable accuracy, experimental data from transport experiments showing the CISS effect. Here, we apply the spinterface mechanism to explain the appearance of magnetization at the interface between nonmagnetic metals and chiral molecules, through the stabilization of otherwise fluctuating magnetic moments. We show that the stabilization of surface magnetic moments occurs for a wide range of realistic parameters and is robust against dephasing. Importantly, we show that the direction of the surface magnetic moments is determined by the chiral axis of the chiral molecules. Armed with the concept of stable surface magnetic moments, we then formulated a theory for the photoemission CISS effect. The theory, based on spin-dependent scattering, leads to direct predictions regarding the relation between the photoemission CISS effect, the chiral axis direction, the spinterface "size", and the tilt angle of the detector with respect to the surface. These predictions are within reach of current experimental capabilities and may shed new light on the origin of the CISS effect.

Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c12974

Authors: Oliver L. A. Monti, Yonatan Dubi

Institutions: University of Arizona, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Language: English

Topic: Magnetic properties of thin films

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Award: G1950533220