Asymmetry in photoelectron emission from chiral molecules induced by circularly polarized light

Bowering N, Lischke T, Schmidtke B, Müller N, Khalil T, Heinzmann U. Asymmetry in photoelectron emission from chiral molecules induced by circularly polarized light. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS. 2001;86(7):1187-1190.In photoionization of free, unoriented chiral molecules with circularly polarized radiation, a significant circular dichroism, i.e., an asymmetry in the forward-backward electron emission, has been observed in the photoelectron angular distribution. This leads also to an asymmetry in the momentum transfer to the photoions. The spectra for the left- and right-handed enantiomers of bromocamphor exhibit asymmetries up to several percent which vary as a function of orbital binding energy. This enantioselective: effect can similarly occur for biomolecules with handedness, like amino acids, and may thus be a contributing factor related to the origin of the terrestrial biomolecular homochirality