UC Irvine

By placing Mg-porphyrin molecules in a chiral optical cavity, time reversal symmetry is broken, and polariton ring currents can be generated with linearly polarized light, resulting in a circular dichroism signal. Since the electronic state degeneracy in the molecule is lifted by the formation of chiral polaritons, this signal is one order of magnitude stronger than the bare molecule signal induced by circularly polarized light. Enantiomer-selective photochemical processes in chiral optical cavities is an intriguing future possibility.