Understanding Parity violation in molecular systems

Parity-violation energy (EPV) due to weak nuclear interactions between nucleons and electrons in chiralmolecular systems provides a fundamental tool to verify our understanding of electronic behavior in complexsystems. We used both a relativistic and a nonrelativistic approach to study a number of simple molecules andanalyze the corresponding EPV in terms of intuitive electrodynamic concepts. We developed a qualitativemodel to predict the sign of EPV and its behavior against selected geometric distortions. Our model provides avaluable tool to screen large sets of molecules and select interesting candidates for more expensive investigations.