Enantiomer Superpositions from Matter-Wave Interference of Chiral Molecules

Chiral Light–Chiral Matter Interactions: an Optical Force Perspective

“…Both conservative and dissipative diffraction regimes have been discussed, and the work has recently been expanded to include the influence of molecular rotational states . This chiral matter-wave interferometry also allows preparing molecules in a superposition of enantiomer states, from which interferometric sensing and measurements of enantiodependent chiral optical forces can be expected with unprecedented accuracy, as detailed in ref . These work clearly emphasize how molecular interferometry constitutes one firm promise for investigating in full depth the signatures and features of chiral optical forces.…”

“…(B) Quantum superpositions of enantiomers can be prepared by diffracting a molecular beam sent through a similar optical helicity grating inducing a handedness-dependent phase shift. Through their transit, chiral molecules tunnel continuously between their two enantiomeric forms, giving the possibility to generate superpositions of enantiomers by a careful adjustment of the grating phases, as discussed in ref . Such superpositions can be measured and exploited using state-of-the-art interferometric sensing methods developed in the context of matter-wave interferometry .…”

“…Such superpositions can be measured and exploited using state-of-the-art interferometric sensing methods developed in the context of matter-wave interferometry . Reprinted with permission from ref . Copyright 2021 American Physical Society; .…”

Ultrafast chirality: the road to efficient chiral measurements

“…A recent theoretical proposal showed that optical gratings could also be used to generate quantum superpositions of opposite enantiomers. 189 However, in these works, the proposed optical setups are chiral only beyond the electric–dipole approximation, and thus the sensitivity of these methods to smaller molecules and localized chiral structures such as due to an asymmetric carbon, could be limited by the weakness of the non-electric–dipole interactions. Synthetic chiral light may allow one to overcome this limitation, enhancing these opportunities even further.…”

Strong chiral optical force for small chiral molecules based on electric-dipole interactions, inspired by the asymmetrical hydrozoan Velella velella

“…Interest is growing in the possibility of an optical force that discriminates between the enantiomers of a small1 chiral molecule [1][2][3]. Such a force could be used in a wealth of potential applications, including chiral molecular matter-wave interferometry for precision metrology and tests of fundamental physics [4][5][6], the distillation of chiral molecules in chiral optical lattices as a novel form of matter [7], and the resolution of enantiomers for use in chemistry and biology [4,[8][9][10][11][12][13]; a task of particular importance [14,15]. The chiral optical forces proposed to date, however, are extremely weak, as they rely on magnetic-dipole and electric-quadrupole interactions.…”