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.

• Received 14 November 2015
• Revised 25 March 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.94.032505

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Published by the American Physical Society