Spin current and chirality degrees of freedom inherent in localized electron orbitals

Abstract

In solid state physics, any phase transition is commonly observed as a change in the microscopic distribution of charge, spin, or current. Here we report the nature of an exotic order parameter inherent in the localized electron orbitals that cannot be primarily captured by these three fundamental quantities. This order parameter is described as the electric toroidal multipoles connecting different total angular momenta under the spin-orbit coupling. The corresponding microscopic physical quantity is the spin current tensor on an atomic scale, which induces spin-derived electric polarization and the chirality of the Dirac equation. We stress that the chirality intrinsic to the elementary particle is the essence of electric toroidal multipoles. These findings link microscopic spin currents and chirality in the Dirac theory to the concept of multipoles and provide a new perspective for quantum states of matter.