About ELCH

"Ex­treme light for sens­ing and driv­ing mo­lecu­lar chir­al­ity (ELCH)"

Molecular chirality – the fact that a molecule’s left- and right-handed versions share almost all of their physical properties but differ dramatically in their chemical and biological behavior – poses intellectual challenges across the natural sciences and is relevant to the building blocks of life, playing a vital role in medicine and health. Our CRC focuses on a very fundamental aspect of chirality. With ELCH, a research center targeting a microscopic and quantum mechanical understanding of chiral molecules in the gas phase has been established. The most advanced tools of experimental and theoretical atomic and molecular physics, and quantum optics (AMO) are used to control and drive chirality at a single-molecule level. Using electromagnetic radiation, we address the entire molecular system consisting of electrons and nuclei and provide a unique light-driven gas-phase laboratory for chiral molecular physics. 

In FPs 1 and 2, ELCH’s continuously increasing number of collaborations has resulted in important progress towards the original four long-term goals: (i) Combination of partial Coulomb explosion with PECD is a breakthrough towards the determination of absolute configuration, allowing to target larger molecules and to correlate PECD with the molecule’s configuration. (ii) A high-resolution laser-based method has been realized as part of a set of advanced instruments for the determination of enantiomeric excess which applies to mixtures and conformers. (iii) Enantiomer-selective excitation of a racemate is a key to chiral purification, and a seminal experimental demonstration combined with theory took a big step toward complete selectivity. (iv) The demonstration of laser spectroscopy of short-lived radioactive molecules and the large increase in spectral resolution opens new perspectives forfundamental physics experiments since parity-violating interactions in chiral molecules increase steeply in strength with the atomic number. ELCH will now extend the investigations to molecules in defined environments, where new chirality-sensitive observables are expected and where the modifications of observables by environments are addressed. ELCH is in the unique position to compare results on individual molecules with results on the same molecules embedded in an environment.

Besides our scientific aims, we pursue three further key goals within this CRC. Ourstrategic goal is to strengthen AMO physics sustainably in Kassel and in the participating institutions. For FP3, the core AMO competence in the participating institutions is reinforced by seven new projects – five based on recent W2/ W3 appointments and two fostering independence of Postdoctoral researchers. Oureducational goal is to provide the best possible training for students and Postdocs in the highly dynamic area of AMO science. To fascinate pupils and draw them to the natural sciences, we will closely cooperate with the Schülerforschungszentrum Nordhessen, a facility jointly financed by U Kassel and local schools. Our gender equality goal takes advantage of the existing infrastructure at Universität Kassel and our partner institutions, already at a high level, and substantiates it by physics-specific components. We aim to increase the number of female early career researchers in the CRC to increase the number of women in physics on the long run.