Tracking Chirality in Photoelectron Circular Dichroism

Abstract

Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) originates from the interplay between a 
molecule's chiral nuclear scaffold and a circularly polarized ionizing laser field. 
It is one of the most sensitive characterization techniques for the chirality of 
molecules in the gas phase. However, due to the complexity of the observable, it is 
generally difficult to predict and track how and when the chirality of the molecule 
is imprinted onto the photoelectron. Here, we present simulations of PECD for 
single-photon ionization in a hydrogenic single-electron model with an artificial 
chiral potential. This framework allows us to systematically tune the system's 
chirality and characterize the emergence of PECD. To this end, we propose chirality 
measures for potentials and wave functions to establish a quantitative connection with
the resulting anisotropy in the photelectron distribution. We show that these 
chirality measures are suitable indicators for chirality in our model, paving the way 
for tracking the evolution of chirality from the nuclear scaffold to the final 
observable.