Propensity rules for photoelectron circular dichroism in strong field ionization of chiral molecules

TL;DR

This paper explains how strong-field ionization of chiral molecules generates photoelectron currents sensitive to molecular handedness, using two propensity rules linking initial electronic states to current direction, advancing ultrafast chiral detection.

Contribution

It introduces a mechanism based on two propensity rules that connect initial electronic chiral states to photoelectron current directions in strong-field ionization.

Findings

Photoelectron currents are opposite for enantiomers.

Propensity rules predict the current direction based on initial states.

Mechanism enhances understanding of ultrafast chiral detection.

Abstract

Chiral molecules ionized by circularly polarized fields produce a photoelectron current orthogonal to the polarization plane. This current has opposite directions for opposite enantiomers and provides an extremely sensitive probe of molecular handedness. Recently, such photoelectron currents have been measured in the strong-field ionization regime, where they may serve as an ultrafast probe of molecular chirality. Here we provide a mechanism for the emergence of such strong-field photoelectron currents in terms of two propensity rules that link the properties of the initial electronic chiral state to the direction of the photoelectron current.