This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the practical limits of quantum state control of chiral molecules and paves the way for new research directions in molecular physics and beyond.
Chiral molecules, which exist as two non-superimposable mirror image versions called enantiomers, similar to our left and right hands, are fundamental to the fabric of life. The ability to control these molecules and their quantum states has profound implications, from spatial separation of enantiomers in the gas phase to testing hypotheses about the origins of life's homochirality -- the preference for one mirror image over the other in biological systems.
Until now, the scientific community believed that perfect control over these molecules' quantum states was theoretically possible but practically unattainable. The team at the Fritz Haber Institute, however, has proven otherwise. By creating nearly ideal experimental conditions, they have shown that a 96% purity in the quantum state of one enantiomer (one of the two mirror images) is achievable, with only 4% of the other, moving significantly closer to the goal of 100% selectivity.
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