Magnetic chirality

Abstract

Chirality with all broken mirror symmetries matters ubiquitously from DNA functionality, vine climbing, to the piezoelectricity of quartz crystals. Magnetic chirality means chirality in spin-ordered states or (atomic-scale or mesoscopic) spin textures. Magnetic chirality does not change with time-reversal operation, and chirality prime ( $${\mathcal{C}}^\prime$$ C ′ ) means that time-reversal symmetry in addition to all mirror symmetries is broken with free spatial rotations. We will discuss a few examples of magnetic chirality and $${\mathcal{C}}^\prime$$ C ′ , and their emergent physical properties. Some of these exotic properties have been recently observed, and many of them need to be experimentally confirmed.