Observation of Rayleigh optical activity for chiral molecules: a new chiroptical tool

Duncan McArthur, Emmanouil I. Alexakis, Andrew R. Puente, Rebecca McGonigle, Andrew J. Love, Prasad Polavarapu, Laurence D. Barron, Lewis E. MacKenzie, Aidan S. Arnold, Robert P. Cameron

Research output: Working paper/Preprint/Pre-registrationWorking Paper/Preprint

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Abstract

By measuring a small circularly polarized component in the scattered light, we report the first observation of Rayleigh optical activity (RayOA) for typical chiral molecules, namely the two enantiomers of α-pinene. Our work validates fundamental theoretical predictions made over fifty years ago and expands the chiroptical toolkit.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationIthaca, NY
Number of pages2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jul 2025

Funding

RPC gratefully acknowledges the support of a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF\R1\191243, URF\R\241008, RF\ERE\210170, RF\ERE\231130), and EPSRC DTP (EP/R513349/1).

Keywords

  • Rayleigh optical activity
  • chiral molecules
  • chiroptics
  • α-pinene

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