Enantio-discrimination via light deflection effect
Yu-Yuan Chen, Chong Ye, Quansheng Zhang, Yong Li
Abstract
We propose a theoretical method for enantio-discrimination based on the light deflection effect in four-level models of chiral molecules. This four-level model consists of a cyclic three-level subsystem coupled by three strong driving fields and an auxiliary level connected to the cyclic three-level subsystem by a weak probe field. It is shown that the induced refractive index for the weak probe field is chirality-dependent. Thus, it will lead to chirality-dependent light deflection when the intensities of two of the three strong driving fields are spatially inhomogeneous. As a result, the deflection angle of the weak probe light can be utilized to detect the chirality of pure enantiomers and enantiomeric excess of the chiral mixture. Therefore, our method may act as a tool for enantio-discrimination.