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Chirality or handedness is one of the deepest and most persistent mysteries in the sciences, from the molecular asymmetry of life’s building blocks to the emergence of homochirality in early prebiotic systems. Why is chirality “contagious, ” as when a tiny fraction of chiral dopant induces cholesteric twist in an achiral nematic? What mechanisms can spontaneously break mirror symmetry in systems composed entirely of achiral molecules? These questions lie at the intersection of physics, chemistry, and the origins of life. Using the tools of statistical physics, we explore a mechanism that focuses on the role of intramolecular degrees of freedom, in which achiral molecules switch between degenerate configurations of opposite handedness. Theoretical analysis predicts a phase diagram featuring a spatially segregated cholesteric phase with alternating domains of left- and right-handed chiral twist, alongside racemic nematic and isotropic phases. Our model also demonstrates how chiral molecular fluctuations influence the helical twisting power of dopants in the nematic phase. Monte Carlo simulations validate the predicted phase diagram and reveal pattern formation and coarsening in the segregated cholesteric phase. These results suggest that molecular fluctuations between degenerate chiral configurations may be a common mechanism driving cooperative chiral order in soft materials composed of achiral molecules.

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