# Field-induced diastereomers for chiral separation

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method using strong-field laser techniques to achieve state-specific enantiomeric enrichment and spatial separation of chiral molecules, with controllable handedness and significant enantiomeric excess.

## Contribution

It presents a novel approach combining optical centrifuge and static electric fields to create field-induced diastereomers for chiral separation, supported by quantum simulations.

## Key findings

- Achieved up to 30% enantiomeric excess in propylene oxide
- Demonstrated controllable handedness of enantiomeric enhancement
- Proposed a new framework for chiral separation using strong-field physics

## Abstract

A novel approach for the state-specific enantiomeric enrichment and the spatial separation of enantiomers is presented. Our scheme utilizes techniques from strong-field laser physics, specifically an optical centrifuge in conjunction with a static electric field, to create a chiral field with defined handedness. Molecular enantiomers experience unique rotational excitation dynamics and this can be exploited to spatially separate the enantiomers using electrostatic deflection. Notably, the rotational-state-specific enantiomeric enhancement and its handedness is fully controllable. To explain these effects, we introduce the conceptual framework of $field\text{-}induced~diastereomers$ of a chiral molecule and perform robust quantum mechanical simulations on the prototypical chiral molecule propylene oxide (C$_3$H$_6$O), for which ensembles with an enantiomeric excess of up to $30~\%$ were obtained.