Laser-Induced Electron Diffraction in Chiral Molecules

Debobrata Rajak, Sandra Beauvarlet, Omer Kneller, Antoine Comby, Raluca Cireasa, Dominique Descamps, Baptiste Fabre, Jimena D. Gorfinkiel, Julien Higuet, Stéphane Petit, Shaked Rozen, Hartmut Ruf, Nicolas Thiré, Valérie Blanchet, Nirit Dudovich, Bernard Pons, Yann Mairesse

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Strong laser pulses enable probing molecules with their own electrons. The oscillating electric field tears electrons off a molecule, accelerates them, and drives them back toward their parent ion within a few femtoseconds. The electrons are then diffracted by the molecular potential, encoding its structure and dynamics with angstrom and attosecond resolutions. Using elliptically polarized laser pulses, we show that laser-induced electron diffraction is sensitive to the chirality of the target. The field selectively ionizes molecules of a given orientation and drives the electrons along different sets of trajectories, leading them to recollide from different directions. Depending on the handedness of the molecule, the electrons are preferentially diffracted forward or backward along the light propagation axis. This asymmetry, reaching several percent, can be reversed for electrons recolliding from two ends of the molecule. The chiral sensitivity of laser-induced electron diffraction opens a new path to resolve ultrafast chiral dynamics.

Original languageEnglish
Article number011015
Number of pages25
JournalPhysical Review X
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 12 Feb 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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