Enantiodetection via two-dimensional spectroscopy: Extending the methodology to general experimental conditions

Abstract

Developing effective methods to measure the enantiomeric excess of chiral mixtures is one of the major topics in chiral molecular research but remains challenging. An enantiodetection method via two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy based on a four-level model containing a cyclic three-level system (CTLS) of chiral molecules was recently proposed and demonstrated, but with a strict condition of one-photon resonance (where three driving fields are exactly resonantly coupled to the three electric dipole transitions) in the CTLS and narrow-band probe-pulse assumption. Here, we extend the 2D spectroscopy method to more general experimental conditions, with three-photon resonance (where the sum of the two smaller frequencies among the three driving fields equals the third one) and a broadband probe pulse. Our method remains effective on enantiodetection with the help of experimental techniques such as the chop-detection method, which is used to eliminate the influence of the other redundant levels that exist in the real system of chiral molecules. Under these more general conditions, the enantiomeric excess of the chiral mixture is estimated by taking an easily available standard sample (usually the racemic mixture) as the reference.