Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Distinguishing between enantiomers is crucial in chemistry and pharmacology. Existing optical methods rely on enantiospecific three-photon electric-dipole transitions, requiring phase locking, three-photon resonance, and precise beam control, limiting their practicality. Here, we propose an optical method that eliminates these constraints by applying a static electric field, which breaks a symmetry combining rotation and time reversal, leading to distinct two-photon selection rules for enantiomers. This enables selective excitation of a target enantiomer using two beams without phase locking or intensity control, greatly improving the feasibility of optical enantiomer differentiation.
Source: Science Advances
Authors: Fen Zou, Yong Li, Peng Zhang
Institutions: Hainan University, Renmin University of China
Language: English
Subfield: Spectroscopy
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
OpenAlex ID: W4416965483