Enantioselective orientation of chiral molecules induced by terahertz pulses with twisted polarization

Abstract

Chirality and chiral molecules are key elements in modern chemical and biochemical industries. Individual addressing and the eventual separation of chiral enantiomers have been and still are important elusive tasks in molecular physics and chemistry, and a variety of methods have been introduced over the years to achieve these goals. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that a pair of cross-polarized THz pulses interacting with chiral molecules through their permanent dipole moments induces in these molecules an enantioselective orientation. This orientation persists for a long time, exceeding the duration of the THz pulses by several orders of magnitude, and its dependency on temperature and pulses' parameters is investigated. This persistent orientation may enhance the deflection of the molecules in inhomogeneous electromagnetic fields, potentially leading to viable separation techniques.