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

Abstract

Drawing inspiration from a remarkable chiral force found in nature, we show that a static electric field combined with an optical lin-perp-lin polarization standing wave can exert a chiral optical force on a small chiral molecule that is several orders of magnitude stronger than other chiral optical forces proposed to date, being based on leading electric-dipole interactions rather than relying on weak magnetic-dipole and electric-quadrupole interactions. Our chiral optical force applies to most small chiral molecules, including isotopically chiral molecules, and does not require a specific energy-level structure. Potential applications range from chiral molecular matter-wave interferometry for precision metrology and tests of fundamental physics to the resolution of enantiomers for use in chemistry and biology.