Bonus Photon Science Seminar Series: Positive Outlooks on Imaging Photoelectron Circular Dichroism in Negatively-Charged Chiral Molecules

Speaker:  Mallory Green, FHI-Berlin

Program Description:
PhotoElectron Circular Dichroism (PECD) is a forward/backward asymmetry in the photoemission of electrons from a non-racemic sample, upon irradiation by circularly polarized light. Due to this effect’s  high sensitivity to a molecule’s chirality, it could be harnessed into an analytical technique well suited for discrimination of dilute chiral samples. Anions could be used in such a technique to provide mass selectivity and access to more straightforward photodetachment schemes with table-top lasers, but support for PECD in anion photodetachment is limited. We have provided an energy-resolved PECD signal for mass-selected anions, for the first time. In my talk, I will discuss our recent successful results and reflect on the interdisciplinary outlooks of our work.