Mainz 2026 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik
MO 19: Poster – Contributions to SYLC
MO 19.3: Poster
Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 17:00–19:00, Philo 1. OG
Detection and control of molecular chirality in molecular ensembles — •Alexander Blech1, Loren Greenman2, Reinhard Dörner3, and Christiane P. Koch1 — 1Fachbereich Physik, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany — 2Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA — 3Institut für Kernphysik, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) - the forward-backward asymmetry in the photoelectron angular distributions of chiral molecules upon ionization with circularly polarized light - can detect molecular chirality in randomly oriented molecules with high sensitivity. With orientation, also achiral molecules yield PECD. This raises the question whether and if so, under which conditions, PECD signals unequivocally molecular chirality. We address this question through symmetry analysis and show that, when combined with rotational excitation using three mutually orthogonal polarization directions, PECD can reveal chirality even in racemic mixtures. Whereas such sequences of static and non-resonant fields yield PECD also for certain achiral molecules, microwave three-wave-mixing cycles can, in principle, unambiguously detect chirality in arbitrary molecular ensembles. Finally, we demonstrate that fields with three orthogonal polarization directions can not only detect but also induce chirality via chiral rotational dynamics, offering a new pathway for laser-based control of molecular handedness.
Keywords: PECD; Photoionization; chiral molecules; rotational dynamics