From chiral laser pulses to femto- and attosecond electronic chirality flips in achiral molecules

Yunjiao Chen, Dietrich Haase, Jörn Manz (), Huihui Wang () and Yonggang Yang ()
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Yunjiao Chen: Shanxi University
Dietrich Haase: Freie Universität Berlin
Jörn Manz: Shanxi University
Huihui Wang: Shanxi University
Yonggang Yang: Shanxi University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Chirality is an important topic in biology, chemistry and physics. Here we show that ultrashort circularly polarized laser pulses, which are chiral, can be fired on achiral oriented molecules to induce chirality in their electronic densities, with chirality flips within femtoseconds or even attoseconds. Our results, obtained by quantum dynamics simulations, use the fact that laser pulses can break electronic symmetry while conserving nuclear symmetry. Here two laser pulses generate a superposition of three electronic eigenstates. This breaks all symmetry elements of the electronic density, making it chiral except at the periodic rare events of the chirality flips. As possible applications, we propose the combination of the electronic chirality flips with Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44807-0

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