Direct Asymmetric Photochemistry with Synthetic Chiral Light
Abstract
Circularly polarized light has long been used to distinguish the two mirror images of chiral molecules. Recently, a conceptual breakthrough has predicted that a new form of optical fields - synthetic chiral light - could usher in an 'electric-dipole revolution' in chiroptical interactions. We report the first experimental evidence for this prediction in the optical domain, using a three-dimensional laser electric field synthesized to trace a chiral pattern. The ionization and fragmentation of chiral molecules was found to depend on both the molecular handedness, and the handedness and geometry of the synthetic chiral field. Supported by two theoretical models, our results demonstrate that synthetic chiral light can induce strong chiroptical interactions, opening new horizons for asymmetric photochemistry and chiral analysis.
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BibTeX
@misc{greenwood2026direct,
title = {{Direct Asymmetric Photochemistry with Synthetic Chiral Light}},
author = {Jason B. Greenwood and Letizia Fede and Daniel García González and Umberto Dellasette and Ross Anderson and Chris Sparling and Dave Townsend and Patricia Vindel-Zandbergen and David Ayuso and Valérie Blanchet and Bernard Pons and Andrès Ordóñez and Yann Mairesse},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.12947},
eprint = {2609.12947},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12947},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Direct Asymmetric Photochemistry with Synthetic Chiral Light
AU - Jason B. Greenwood
AU - Letizia Fede
AU - Daniel García González
AU - Umberto Dellasette
AU - Ross Anderson
AU - Chris Sparling
AU - Dave Townsend
AU - Patricia Vindel-Zandbergen
AU - David Ayuso
AU - Valérie Blanchet
AU - Bernard Pons
AU - Andrès Ordóñez
AU - Yann Mairesse
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.12947
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12947
AB - Circularly polarized light has long been used to distinguish the two mirror images of chiral molecules. Recently, a conceptual breakthrough has predicted that a new form of optical fields - synthetic chiral light - could usher in an 'electric-dipole revolution' in chiroptical interactions. We report the first experimental evidence for this prediction in the optical domain, using a three-dimensional laser electric field synthesized to trace a chiral pattern. The ionization and fragmentation of chiral molecules was found to depend on both the molecular handedness, and the handedness and geometry of the synthetic chiral field. Supported by two theoretical models, our results demonstrate that synthetic chiral light can induce strong chiroptical interactions, opening new horizons for asymmetric photochemistry and chiral analysis.
ER -