2010 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Crystal Growth
| Project/Area Number |
19540410
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Mathematical physics/Fundamental condensed matter physics
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| Research Institution | Keio University |
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Principal Investigator |
SAITO Yukio Keio University, 理工学部, 教授 (20162240)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2007 – 2010
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| Keywords | 統計物理学 |
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| Research Abstract |
Some crystals have two possible shapes that are mutually mirror image to each other. In the solution growth, one normally obtains racemic mixture of chiral crystals, but under grinding, it is experimentally shown that only one type of enantiomer survives. Presentresearch studies this phenomena theoretically, and reveals that homochirality is caused by the mutual antagonism between clusters of different enantiomeric crystallites when they come close to each other. The effect is applicable to separate enantiomeric form of organic molecules, and might be relevant to the origin of homochirality in life.
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Research Products
(19 results)
