X-ray diffraction from chiral molecules with twisted beams
Optics
2026-03-02 v1 Chemical Physics
Abstract
Structured x-rays carrying an orbital angular momentum break spatial inversion symmetry and have been proposed as a means to probe chirality. We theoretically investigate twisted non-resonant x-ray diffraction from chiral molecules and demonstrate that no dichroic signal can arise from randomly oriented molecules, irrespective of the beam spatial profile. However, a dichroic response is found to emerge if the molecule is oriented. Our results establish the beam and sample conditions for which a measurable dichroic scattering signal survives axial and focal averaging.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2602.23655,
title = {X-ray diffraction from chiral molecules with twisted beams},
author = {Akilesh Venkatesh and Phay J. Ho and Jérémy R. Rouxel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.23655},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
6 pages, 4 figures