Topologically protected chiral sensing using Synthetic Chiral Light
Abstract
Chirality underlies molecular function in living matter, yet its optical detection remains challenging because conventional chiroptical spectroscopies rely on weak corrections to the dominant electric-dipole light-matter interaction, making desired optical signals weak and fragile. Topology offers a route to robustness, enabling observables whose defining properties survive disorder and imperfections. However, experimental realization of a practical topological observable for chiral spectroscopy has remained elusive. Here we realize chiral topological light and demonstrate such an observable. A tightly focused, phase-locked, counter-rotating two-colour field encodes chirality in the three-dimensional electric-field trajectory while its dominant topological charge resides in the longitudinal electric-field component where it remains hidden from direct far-field detection. An isotropic chiral medium acts as a topological transducer, converting the latent topology of the driving field into a propagating nonlinear response whose topological charge becomes directly observable in the far field while remaining strongly suppressed in achiral media. Using randomly oriented chiral single-crystal powders, we experimentally detect the enantio-sensitive response through the topological charge of the emitted field. Directly accessible in the far field and robust against experimental imperfections, this observable allows us to track and control chiral signal on attosecond timescales through the relative phase of the driving two-colour fields. Our results establish topology as a practical resource for ultrafast chiral optical spectroscopy.
Related
- Direct Asymmetric Photochemistry with Synthetic Chiral Light
- Ligand-directed symmetry reduction and stereoselective assembly of C₃-symmetric topologically chiral trefoil knots.
- Ru‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of α‐iminophosphonates: A Novel Synthetic Approach for Valuable Chiral α‐Aminophosphonates
- Chiral gold nanofibers as substrates towards SERS-based chiral and flexible sensing
- Synthesis of Chiral Gold Nanostructures on Gold‐Coral‐Coated Transparent Conductive Oxide Substrates via [AuCl4]– and Cysteine Interactions for Enhanced Chiral Sensing
BibTeX
@misc{li2026topologically,
title = {{Topologically protected chiral sensing using Synthetic Chiral Light}},
author = {Gefei Li and Justas Terentjevas and Yong Zhang and Patricia Vindel-Zandbergen and David Ayuso and Serguei Patchkovskii and Tran Tien Dat and Junpeng Lu and Qihua Liu and Yuanjie Pan and Li Liu and Hao Teng and Zhiyi Wei and Misha Yu. Ivanov and Olga Smirnova and Pengju Zhang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.12944},
eprint = {2609.12944},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12944},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Topologically protected chiral sensing using Synthetic Chiral Light
AU - Gefei Li
AU - Justas Terentjevas
AU - Yong Zhang
AU - Patricia Vindel-Zandbergen
AU - David Ayuso
AU - Serguei Patchkovskii
AU - Tran Tien Dat
AU - Junpeng Lu
AU - Qihua Liu
AU - Yuanjie Pan
AU - Li Liu
AU - Hao Teng
AU - Zhiyi Wei
AU - Misha Yu. Ivanov
AU - Olga Smirnova
AU - Pengju Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.12944
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12944
AB - Chirality underlies molecular function in living matter, yet its optical detection remains challenging because conventional chiroptical spectroscopies rely on weak corrections to the dominant electric-dipole light-matter interaction, making desired optical signals weak and fragile. Topology offers a route to robustness, enabling observables whose defining properties survive disorder and imperfections. However, experimental realization of a practical topological observable for chiral spectroscopy has remained elusive. Here we realize chiral topological light and demonstrate such an observable. A tightly focused, phase-locked, counter-rotating two-colour field encodes chirality in the three-dimensional electric-field trajectory while its dominant topological charge resides in the longitudinal electric-field component where it remains hidden from direct far-field detection. An isotropic chiral medium acts as a topological transducer, converting the latent topology of the driving field into a propagating nonlinear response whose topological charge becomes directly observable in the far field while remaining strongly suppressed in achiral media. Using randomly oriented chiral single-crystal powders, we experimentally detect the enantio-sensitive response through the topological charge of the emitted field. Directly accessible in the far field and robust against experimental imperfections, this observable allows us to track and control chiral signal on attosecond timescales through the relative phase of the driving two-colour fields. Our results establish topology as a practical resource for ultrafast chiral optical spectroscopy.
ER -