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arXiv · 2402.17308

Full quantum state control of chiral molecules

JuHyeon Lee·Elahe Abdiha·Boris G. Sartakov·Gerard Meijer·Sandra Eibenberger-Arias
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Abstract

Controlling the internal quantum states of chiral molecules for a selected enantiomer has a wide range of fundamental applications. Using tailored microwave fields, a chosen rotational state can be enriched for a selected enantiomer, even starting from a racemic mixture. This enables rapid switching between samples of different enantiomers in a given state, holding great promise, for instance, for measuring parity violation in chiral molecules. Achieving full enantiomer-specific state transfer is a key requirement for this and many other applications. Although theoretically feasible, achieving the required experimental conditions seemed unrealistic. Here, we realize near-ideal conditions, overcoming both the limitations of thermal population and spatial degeneracy in rotational states. Our results show that 96% state-specific enantiomeric purity can be obtained from a racemic mixture, in an approach that is universally applicable to all chiral molecules of C1 symmetry.

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JuHyeon Lee, Elahe Abdiha, Boris G. Sartakov, Gerard Meijer, Sandra Eibenberger-Arias. 2024-02-27. Full quantum state control of chiral molecules. https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.17308

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