Enantiosensitive exceptional points in open chiral systems

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that exceptional points in non-Hermitian chiral systems are enantiomer-specific, enabling selective control, amplification of chiral effects, and enantiomeric detection through topologically robust methods.

Contribution

It reveals enantiosensitive exceptional points in non-Hermitian molecular systems, enabling enantiomer-specific control and detection of chirality via topological phenomena.

Findings

Encircling EPs induces enantiomer-specific population transfer.

Resonant excitation at EPs amplifies weak chiral effects.

Chiral fiber behavior depends on molecular enantiomeric excess.

Abstract

Exceptional points (EPs) are remarkable spectral degeneracies in a non-Hermitian system's parameter space, where both eigenvalues and eigenstates coalesce. Here, we show that in non-Hermitian molecular chiral systems the position of EPs in the parameter space is enantiomer-specific. First, we show that encircling the EP of one enantiomer drives robust topological population transfer in the chiral molecule while its mirror twin remains unaffected, offering a new route for selective chiral control. Second, we reveal how resonant excitation of EPs in chiral molecules can amplify weak chiral effects, offering an alternative approach to the enhancement of chiral interactions. Third, we demonstrate that a twisted chiral fiber immersed in a liquid solution of chiral molecules exhibits topologically different behavior depending on the solution's enantiomeric excess, offering a new approach to the detection of molecular chirality. Our results combine high enantiosensitivity with topological robustness in chiral discrimination and control, paving the way for new approaches in the exploration of non-Hermitian and chiral phenomena.