IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v15y2024i1d10.1038_s41467-024-44807-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Yunjiao Chen

    (Shanxi University)

  • Dietrich Haase

    (Freie Universität Berlin)

  • Jörn Manz

    (Shanxi University
    Freie Universität Berlin
    Shanxi University)

  • Huihui Wang

    (Shanxi University)

  • Yonggang Yang

    (Shanxi University
    Shanxi University)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunjiao Chen & Dietrich Haase & Jörn Manz & Huihui Wang & Yonggang Yang, 2024. "From chiral laser pulses to femto- and attosecond electronic chirality flips in achiral molecules," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-44807-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44807-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44807-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-024-44807-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-44807-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.