Imprinting chirality on atoms using synthetic chiral light fields

Abstract

Atoms are usually thought of as achiral objects. However, one can construct superpositions of atomic states that are chiral [1]. Here we show how to excite such superpositions with tailored light fields both in the weak-field and strong-field regimes, using realistic laser parameters. First, we use time-dependent Schrodinger equation (TDSE) simulations to demonstrate the creation of a time-dependent bound chiral wavepacket in sodium atoms. Second, we show how the time-dependent handedness of this wavepacket can be probed by photoelectron circular dichroism, in spite of the central symmetry of the core potential. Third, we use TDSE simulations to show how chirality can be directly imprinted on a photoelectron wavepacket created by strong-field ionization and introduce an unambigous chiral measure that allows us to characterize its handedness.

References in corpus (3)

• Attosecond-resolved photoionization of chiral molecules
• Enantiosensitive steering of free-induction decay
• Evidence of ac-Stark-shifted resonances in intense two-color circularly polarized laser fields

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Quantum electrodynamics of intense laser-matter interactions: A tool for quantum state engineering
• Photon-statistics force in ultrafast electron dynamics
• Strong laser physics, non-classical light states and quantum information science
• The Application of Tailored Fields for Studying Chirality and Symmetry
• Universal imprinting of chirality with chiral light by employing plasmonic metastructures
• Quantum control of ro-vibrational dynamics and application to light-induced molecular chirality
• Extraction of XUV+IR ionization amplitudes from the circular dichroic phase
• Phase-matched locally chiral light for global control of chiral light-matter interaction
• Tracking chirality in photoelectron circular dichroism
• Chiral Electron Momentum Distribution upon Strong-Field Ionization of Atoms
• Multiphoton ionization with three-dimensional light fields