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9 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)
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Chiral molecules split light: Reflection and refraction in a chiral liquid

Ghosh, A., Fischer, P.

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 97(17), 2006, Featured highlight ‘Fundamental optical physics: Refraction’ Nature Photonics, Nov. 2006. (article)

Abstract
A light beam changes direction as it enters a liquid at an angle from another medium, such as air. Should the liquid contain molecules that lack mirror symmetry, then it has been predicted by Fresnel that the light beam will not only change direction, but will actually split into two separate beams with a small difference in the respective angles of refraction. Here we report the observation of this phenomenon. We also demonstrate that the angle of reflection does not equal the angle of incidence in a chiral medium. Unlike conventional optical rotation, which depends on the path-length through the sample, the reported reflection and refraction phenomena arise within a few wavelengths at the interface and thereby suggest a new approach to polarimetry that can be used in microfluidic volumes.

Featured highlight ‘Fundamental optical physics: Refraction’ Nature Photonics, Nov. 2006.

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DOI [BibTex]

pf Ghosh, A., Fischer, P. Chiral molecules split light: Reflection and refraction in a chiral liquid PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 97(17), 2006, Featured highlight ‘Fundamental optical physics: Refraction’ Nature Photonics, Nov. 2006. (article)

DOI [BibTex]

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Direct chiral discrimination in NMR spectroscopy

Buckingham, A., Fischer, P.

CHEMICAL PHYSICS, 324(1):111-116, 2006 (article)

Abstract
Conventional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is unable to distinguish between the two mirror-image forms (enantiomers) of a chiral molecule. This is because the NMR spectrum is determined by the chemical shifts and spin-spin coupling constants which - in the absence of a chiral solvent - are identical for the two enantiomers. We discuss how chirality may nevertheless be directly detected in liquid-state NMR spectroscopy: In a chiral molecule, the rotating nuclear magnetic moment induces an electric dipole moment in the direction perpendicular to itself and to the permanent magnetic field of the spectrometer. We present computations of the precessing electric polarization following a pi/2 pulse. Our estimates indicate that the electric polarization should be detectable in favourable cases. We also predict that application of an electrostatic field induces a chirally sensitive magnetization oscillating in the direction of the permanent magnetic field. We show that the electric-field-perturbed chemical shift tensor, the nuclear magnetic shielding polarizability, underlies these chiral NMR effects. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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DOI [BibTex]

pf Buckingham, A., Fischer, P. Direct chiral discrimination in NMR spectroscopy CHEMICAL PHYSICS, 324(1):111-116, 2006 (article)

DOI [BibTex]

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NONLINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF CHIRAL LIQUIDS Electric-dipolar pseudoscalars in nonlinear optics

Fischer, P., Champagne, B.

In NON-LINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER: FROM MOLECULES TO CONDENSED PHASES, 1, pages: 359-381, Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry and Physics, 2006 (incollection)

Abstract
We give all overview of linear and nonlinear optical processes that can be specific to chiral molecules in isotropic media. Specifically, we discuss the pseudoscalars that underlie nonlinear optical activity and chiral frequency conversion processes in fluids. We show that nonlinear optical techniques open entirely new ways of exploring chirality: Sum-frequency-generation (SFG) at second-order and BioCARS at fourth-order arise in the electric-dipole approximation and do not require circularly polarized light to detect chiral molecules in solution. Here the frequency conversion in itself is a measure of chirality. This is in contrast to natural optical activity phenomena which are based on the interference of radiation from induced oscillating electric and magnetic dipoles, and which are observed as a differential response to right and left circularly polarized light. We give examples from our SFG experiments in optically active solutions and show how the application of an additional static electric field to sum-frequency generation allows the absolute configuration of the chiral solute to be determined via all electric-dipolar process. Results from ab initio calculations of the SFG pseudoscalar are presented for a number of chiral molecules

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[BibTex]

pf Fischer, P., Champagne, B. NONLINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF CHIRAL LIQUIDS Electric-dipolar pseudoscalars in nonlinear optics In NON-LINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER: FROM MOLECULES TO CONDENSED PHASES, 1, pages: 359-381, Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry and Physics, 2006 (incollection)

[BibTex]

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Ring-resonator-based frequency-domain optical activity measurements of a chiral liquid

Vollmer, F., Fischer, P.

OPTICS LETTERS, 31(4):453-455, 2006 (article)

Abstract
Chiral liquids rotate the plane of polarization of linearly polarized light and are therefore optically active. Here we show that optical rotation can be observed in the frequency domain. A chiral liquid introduced in a fiber-loop ring resonator that supports left and right circularly polarized modes gives rise to relative frequency shifts that are a direct measure of the liquid's circular birefringence and hence of its optical activity. The effect is in principle not diminished if the circumference of the ring is reduced. The technique is similarly applicable to refractive index and linear birefringence measurements. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

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DOI [BibTex]

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Sign of the refractive index in a gain medium with negative permittivity and permeability

Chen, Y., Fischer, P., Wise, F.

JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS, 23(1):45-50, 2006 (article)

Abstract
We show how the sign of the refractive index in any medium may be derived using a rigorous analysis based on Einstein causality. In particular, we consider left-handed materials, i.e., media that have negative permittivities and permeabilities at the frequency of interest. We find that the consideration of gain in such media can give rise to a positive refractive index. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

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DOI [BibTex]

pf Chen, Y., Fischer, P., Wise, F. Sign of the refractive index in a gain medium with negative permittivity and permeability JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS, 23(1):45-50, 2006 (article)

DOI [BibTex]

2000

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Phenomenological damping in optical response tensors

Buckingham, A., Fischer, P.

PHYSICAL REVIEW A, 61(3), 2000 (article)

Abstract
Although perturbation theory applied to the optical response of a molecule or material system is only strictly valid far from resonances, it is often applied to ``near-resonance{''} conditions by means of complex energies incorporating damping. Inconsistent signs of the damping in optical response tensors have appeared in the recent literature, as have errors in the treatment of the perturbation by a static held. The ``equal-sign{''} convention used in a recent publication yields an unphysical material response, and Koroteev's intimation that linear electro-optical circular dichroism may exist in an optically active liquid under resonance conditions is also flawed. We show that the isotropic part of the Pockels tensor vanishes.

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DOI [BibTex]

2000

pf Buckingham, A., Fischer, P. Phenomenological damping in optical response tensors PHYSICAL REVIEW A, 61(3), 2000 (article)

DOI [BibTex]

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Ab initio investigation of the sum-frequency hyperpolarizability of small chiral molecules

Champagne, B., Fischer, P., Buckingham, A.

CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS, 331(1):83-88, 2000 (article)

Abstract
Using a sum-over-states procedure based on configuration interaction singles /6-311++G{*}{*}, we have computed the sum-frequency hyperpolarizability beta (ijk)(-3 omega; 2 omega, omega) Of two small chiral molecules, R-monofluoro-oxirane and R-(+)-propylene oxide. Excitation energies were scaled to fit experimental UV-absorption data and checked with ab initio values from time-dependent density functional theory. The isotropic part of the computed hyperpolarizabilities, beta(-3 omega; 2 omega, omega), is much smaller than that reported previously from sum-frequency generation experiments on aqueous solutions of arabinose. Comparison is made with a single-centre chiral model. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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DOI [BibTex]

pf Champagne, B., Fischer, P., Buckingham, A. Ab initio investigation of the sum-frequency hyperpolarizability of small chiral molecules CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS, 331(1):83-88, 2000 (article)

DOI [BibTex]

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Three-wave mixing in chiral liquids

Fischer, P., Wiersma, D., Righini, R., Champagne, B., Buckingham, A.

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 85(20):4253-4256, 2000 (article)

Abstract
Second-order nonlinear optical frequency conversion in isotropic systems is only dipole allowed for sum- and difference-frequency generation in chiral media. We develop a single-center chiral model of the three-wave mixing (sum:frequency generation) nonlinearity and estimate its magnitude. We also report results from ab initio calculations and from three- and four-wave mixing experiments in support of the theoretical estimates. We show that the second-order susceptibility in chiral liquids is much smaller than previously thought.

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DOI [BibTex]

pf Fischer, P., Wiersma, D., Righini, R., Champagne, B., Buckingham, A. Three-wave mixing in chiral liquids PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 85(20):4253-4256, 2000 (article)

DOI [BibTex]