Project Research

Ultrafast Chirality

Understanding molecular handedness through electron motion on the attosecond timescale. By probing chirality at its electronic origin, we unlock fundamentally new observables and unprecedented sensitivity.

Photoelectron Circular Dichroism (PECD)

Photoelectron Circular Dichroism is one of the most sensitive probes of molecular chirality. When chiral molecules are ionized by circularly polarized light, they emit electrons preferentially in the forward or backward direction, creating a strong enantio-sensitive asymmetry. Unlike conventional chiro-optical techniques, PECD relies on electric-dipole interactions and can enhance chiral sensitivity by orders of magnitude.

Time-Resolved PECD

Time-resolved PECD extends this concept into the ultrafast domain, tracking chiral electron dynamics in real time. It reveals how electronic wave packets evolve, how molecular structure changes after excitation, and how chirality emerges and evolves on femtosecond and attosecond timescales.

Synthetic Chiral Light

Tailored laser fields whose polarization traces a three-dimensional chiral trajectory in time create locally chiral light that couples directly to electronic motion. This allows chirality to be probed through efficient electric-dipole interactions, boosting chiral signals by orders of magnitude compared with conventional optical techniques and enabling new approaches to chiral detection, control, and spectroscopy.

Geometry & Topology in Ultrafast Chiral Dynamics

We explore the geometric structure of ultrafast electron dynamics in chiral matter. Using concepts such as geometric phases and Berry curvature, we reveal how molecular handedness generates topological observables. This framework uncovers the chirality of temporal structures formed by electronic currents and light fields, enabling robust topology-based approaches to chiral spectroscopy and control.

Chiral Biomolecules

From amino acids to nucleic acids and pharmaceuticals, chirality shapes biological function. We develop new methods to reveal molecular structure, folding, and dynamics with ultrahigh sensitivity. Our approaches enable structural characterization of biomolecular ions and their conformational transformations, bridging chiral spectroscopy and next-generation molecular analytics.

Charge and Spin Dynamics

Chiral matter influences the motion of electrons and spins. Understanding these processes is key to emerging concepts in molecular electronics, spintronics, and quantum technologies. TRILOGY investigates how molecular chirality controls ultrafast charge and spin dynamics, revealing the fundamental mechanisms behind chiral-induced spin selectivity and enabling new approaches to spin control with tailored light fields.

Photonic Technologies

We translate discoveries in ultrafast chirality into compact sensing technologies, combining lasers, photonics, microfluidics, and advanced analytics. These platforms bring attosecond science out of the laboratory, enabling scalable, high-throughput chiral sensing through the integration of advanced imaging and miniaturized photonic devices.

Biomedical and Environmental Applications

Applications range from disease biomarkers and pharmaceutical analysis to environmental monitoring, enabling next-generation tools for health, industry, and sustainability.