Chiral rotational spectroscopy

We introduce chiral rotational spectroscopy, a technique that enables the determination of the orientated optical activity pseudotensor components $B_{XX}$, $B_{YY}$ and $B_{ZZ}$ of chiral molecules, in a manner that reveals the enantiomeric constitution of a sample and provides an incisive signal even for a racemate. Chiral rotational spectroscopy could find particular use in the analysis of molecules that are chiral solely by virtue of their isotopic constitution and molecules with multiple chiral centers. A basic design for a chiral rotational spectrometer together with a model of its functionality is given. Our proposed technique offers the more familiar polarizability components $\alpha_{XX}$, $\alpha_{YY}$ and $\alpha_{ZZ}$ as by-products, which could see it find use even for achiral molecules.