2026-02-17 日本原子力研究機構,東京都立大学
純電子的カイラリティの概念。左右対称な結晶で電子の動きによって左右の差が生じる
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.jaea.go.jp/02/press2025/p26021701/
- https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/dc1q-xzbd
構造カイラリティを伴わない純電子的カイラリティ Purely Electronic Chirality without Structural Chirality
Takayuki Ishitobi and Kazumasa Hattori
Physical Review Letters Published: 4 February, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/dc1q-xzbd
Abstract
We introduce the concept of purely electronic chirality (PEC), which arises in the absence of structural chirality. In condensed matter physics and chemistry, chirality has conventionally been understood as a mirror-image asymmetry in crystal or molecular structures. We demonstrate that certain electronic orders exhibit chirality-related properties without atomic displacement. Specifically, we investigate quadrupole orders to realize such purely electronic chirality with handedness that can be tuned by magnetic fields. As a representative example, we analyze a model featuring 120° antiferro quadrupole orders on a distorted kagome lattice, predicting various chirality-related responses in the nonmagnetic ordered phase of URhSn. Furthermore, as a phonon analog, chiral phonons can emerge in achiral crystals through coupling with the PEC order. Our results provide a distinct origin of chirality and a fundamental basis for exploring the interplay between electronic and structural chirality.
