Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Circularly polarized light has long been used to distinguish the two mirror images of chiral molecules. Recently, a conceptual breakthrough has predicted that a new form of optical fields - synthetic chiral light - could usher in an 'electric-dipole revolution' in chiroptical interactions. We report the first experimental evidence for this prediction in the optical domain, using a three-dimensional laser electric field synthesized to trace a chiral pattern. The ionization and fragmentation of chiral molecules was found to depend on both the molecular handedness, and the handedness and geometry of the synthetic chiral field. Supported by two theoretical models, our results demonstrate that synthetic chiral light can induce strong chiroptical interactions, opening new horizons for asymmetric photochemistry and chiral analysis.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: Queen's University Belfast, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Bordeaux, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications, Freie Universität Berlin, Heriot-Watt University, New York University, Imperial College London
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1190173965, PDT to meet the challenge of treating pancreatic cancer, G1904433944, Multiscale, multidimensional approach to chiral light-matter interactions for enhanced chiroptical responses, Capturing Attosecond-to-femtosecond Chiral Transients with Ultrafast Spectroscopy, G3306202199, G3852333291, G7080048889, European Laser Research Infrastructures serving Science and Industry, G7642730041, G8200852054
OpenAlex ID: W7212766140