Figure 2.

Single-electron picture of the charge and spin dynamics in a chiral molecule (6 × 8) before and after making instantaneous contact with a metal at time T₀ = 10 fs. (a and e) The spatially resolved charge ⟨n_m⟩ and spin projections (b and f) ⟨s_m^x⟩, (c and g) ⟨s_m⟩, and (d and h) ⟨s_m^z⟩ are simulated for positive (+) (a–d) and negative (−) (e–h) helicity. The inset of panel a shows the total number of electrons (black) and charge polarization (red) in the molecule as a function of time. The following parameters were used: a = 5 Å, c = 235 Å, ε₀ – μ = −4, λ₀ = 1/1000, and Γ = 1/100, in units of t₀ = 1 eV, simulated at T = 300 K.