Enantiomer separation and matter-wave interferometry using discriminatory optical forces (B06*)

• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 328961117

In this project, we aim at the first experimental observation of chiral discriminatory optical forces at the sin-gle-molecule level and exploit them for enantiomer separation of a racemic [7]-helicene beam. To achieve this, we combine helicity-gradient optical fields generated by a pulsed near-infrared laser with a highly colli-mated molecule beam and spatially resolved detection methods. In the near future, we plan to extend this experiment to the matter-wave regime, where enantio-specific matter-wave diffraction and quantum sensing of chiral interactions will be feasible.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1319: Extreme light for sensing and driving molecular chirality (ELCH)
• Major Instrumentation: YAG leaser
• Instrumentation Group: 5700 Festkörper-Laser
• Applicant Institution: Universität Kassel
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Daqing Wang