Work

Bottom-up Analysis of Rovibrational Helical Dichroism

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We present a general theoretical framework for helical dichroism (HD), establishing an explicit link between chiral resolution and orbital angular momentum (OAM) exchange in light-matter interaction. Tracing microscopic mechanisms of the OAM transfer, we derive rotational selection rules, which establish that HD emerges only from the spin-orbit coupling of light, even for beams without the far-field OAM. Our findings refine the conditions for observing HD, provide a tool to re-examine the outcome of prior experiments, and guide future designs for chiral sensing with structured light.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/fkf1-1jml

Authors: Mateja Hrast, Georgios M. Koutentakis, Mikhail Maslov, Mikhail Lemeshko

Institution: Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Language: English

Topic: Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750

Funder: Austrian Science Fund