Interplay of molecular chirality and intermolecular Coulombic decay (A07*)

• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 328961117

This project explores the role of chirality in intermolecular energy transfer processes. We will investigate how handedness manifests in intermolecular Coulombic decay (ICD), a non-local autoionization mechanism in which excess energy stored in an atom or molecule (possibly chiral or achiral) is transferred to a weakly bound chiral neighbor, thereby ionizing the latter. We will measure the angular distribution of electrons emitted through resonant ICD from a chiral molecule and determine the efficiency of ICD for different handedness of energy donor and acceptor molecules.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1319: Extreme light for sensing and driving molecular chirality (ELCH)
• Applicant Institution: Universität Kassel
• Project Head: Dr. Andreas Hans