Chiral control of current transfer in molecules.

Electron transmission through chiral molecules induced by circularly polarized light can be very different for mirror image structures. This behavior is described in terms of current transfer: the transfer of both charge and momentum. We review recent theoretical developments on the theory of current transfer and discuss related experimental studies of electron transmission through chiral molecular structures adsorbed on surfaces.

Steady-state current transfer and scattering theory.

The correspondence between the steady-state theory of current transfer and scattering theory in a system of coupled tight-binding models of one-dimensional wires is explored. For weak interwire coupling both calculations give nearly identical results, except at singular points associated with band edges. The effect of decoherence in each of these models is studied using a generalization of the Liouville-von Neuman equation suitable for steady-state situations.