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arXiv · 2607.12435

Structured Optical Fields Reveal Nanoscale Chiral Light-Matter Interactions Governed by Optical Chirality

Atsushi Kamegaya·Shun Hashiyada·Yoshito Y. Tanaka
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Abstract

Optical chirality has been proposed as the local electromagnetic quantity governing chiral light-matter interactions, yet in conventional circularly polarized fields its magnitude is locked to the electric energy density, obscuring its independent role. Here we create a structured optical field in which optical chirality arises spatially in magnitude and sign while the electric energy density remains nearly uniform. A single chiral nanoparticle exhibits a differential response that follows this spatial variation, whereas no modulation is observed for an achiral nanoparticle, providing direct experimental evidence that optical chirality governs nanoscale chiral light-matter interactions. Measurements of wavelength-dependent optical rotation further provide an experimental estimate of the chiral polarizability, predicting a chiral gradient force of approximately 100 fN and a one-dimensional trapping potential exceeding the thermal energy at room temperature under optimized aqueous trapping conditions.

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Atsushi Kamegaya, Shun Hashiyada, Yoshito Y. Tanaka. 2026-07-14. Structured Optical Fields Reveal Nanoscale Chiral Light-Matter Interactions Governed by Optical Chirality. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.12435

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