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Amino acid identification is crucial across various scientific disciplines, including biochemistry, pharmaceutical research, and medical diagnostics. However, traditional methods such as mass spectrometry require extensive sample preparation and are time-consuming, complex and costly. Therefore, this study presents a pioneering Machine Learning (ML) approach for automatic amino acid identification by utilizing the unique absorption profiles from an Elliptical Dichroism (ED) spectrometer. Advanced data preprocessing techniques and ML algorithms to learn patterns from the absorption profiles that distinguish different amino acids were investigated to prove the feasibility of this approach. The results show that ML can potentially revolutionize the amino acid analysis and detection paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to determine the mechanism of the photomechanical response of poly(Methyl methacrylate) polymer doped with the photo-isomerizable dye Disperse Red 1 using the non-isomerizable dye Disperse Orange 11 as a control to isolate photoisomerization. Samples are free-standing thin films with thickness that is small compared with the optical skin depth to assure uniform illumination and photomechanical response throughout their volume, which differentiates these studies from most others. Polarization-dependent measurements of the photomechanical stress response are used to deconvolute the contributions of angular hole burning, molecular reorientation and photothermal heating. While photo-isomerization of dopant molecules is commonly observed in dye-doped polymers, the shape changes of a molecule might not couple strongly to the host polymer through steric mechanical interactions, thus not contributing substantially to a macroscopic shape change. To gain insights into the effectiveness of such mechanical coupling, we directly probe the dopant molecules using dichroism measurements simultaneously while measuring the photomechanical response and find mechanical coupling to be small enough to make photothermal heating—mediated by the transfer of optical energy as heat to the polymer—the dominant mechanism. We also predict the fraction of light energy converted to mechanical energy using a model whose parameters are thermodynamic material properties that are measured with independent experiments. We find that in the thin-film geometry, these dye-doped glassy polymers are as efficient as any other material but their large Young's modulus relative to other organic materials, such as liquid crystal elastomers, makes them suitable in applications that require mechanically strong materials. The mechanical properties and the photomechanical response of thin films are observed to be significantly different than in fibers, suggesting that the geometry of the material and surface effects might play an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advancements in terahertz wave applications for sensing, imaging, and high-speed communication have spurred a substantial demand for low-cost, easily accessible optical components capable of manipulating terahertz wave polarization. In this study, terahertz circular dichroism spectroscopic measurements of micrometer-sized metallic chiral helix arrays, fabricated using computer numerical control (CNC) machining, are presented. Experimental results demonstrate a giant circular dichroism of ±0.6 in an axial mode of operation for left- and right-handed arrays within a sub-terahertz frequency range. The helix array converts linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light from 120 GHz to 200 GHz, with a 3 dB axial ratio relative bandwidth approaching 50%. The polarization extinction ratio is in excess of 20 dB. These outstanding features, combined with their low cost, high accessibility, as well as their potential for mass production, pave the way for development of diverse range of optical components such as polarizers, filters, absorbers, and isolators operating in the terahertz frequency region.

Understanding the impact of the relativistic motion of a chiral molecule on its optical response is a prime challenge for fundamental science, but it also has a direct practical relevance in our search for extraterrestrial life. To contribute to these significant developments, we describe a multi–scale computational framework that combines quantum chemistry calculations and full–wave optical simulations to predict the chiral optical response from molecules moving at relativistic speeds. Specifically, the effect of a relativistic motion on the transmission circular dichroism (TCD) of three life–essential biomolecules, namely, B–DNA, chlorophyll a, and chlorophyll b, is investigated. Inspired by previous experiments to detect interstellar chiral molecules, we assume that the molecules move between a stationary observer and a light source, and we study the rotationally averaged TCD as a function of the speed of the molecule.We find that the TCD spectrum that contains the signatures of the molecules shifts with increasing speed to shorter wavelengths, with the effects already being visible for moderate velocities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rotavirus capsid protein VP6 forms the middle of three protein layers and is responsible for many critical steps in the viral life cycle. VP6 as a structural protein can be used in various applications including as a subunit vaccine component. The head domain of VP6 (VP6H) contains key sequences that allow the protein to trimerize and that represent epitopes that are recognized by human antibodies in the viral particle. The domain is rich in ß-sheet secondary structures. Here, VP6H was solubilised from bacterial inclusion bodies and purified using a single affinity chromatography step. Spectral (far-UV circular dichroism and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence) analysis revealed that the purified domain had native-like secondary and tertiary structures. The domain could maintain structure up to 44C during thermal denaturation following which structural changes result in an intermediate forming and finally irreversible aggregation and denaturation. The chemical denaturation with urea and guanidinium hydrochloride produces intermediates that represent a loss in the cooperativity. The VP6H domain is stable and can fold to produce its native structure in the absence of the VP6 base domain but cannot be defined as an independent folding unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a multifunctional terahertz absorber utilizing graphene and vanadium dioxide as functional materials. By utilizing vanadium dioxide in the metallic state, the device achieves linear dichroism, with a maximum value of 0.8 at 1.75 THz, while in the insulating state, the introduction of graphene strips results in a chiral structure that achieves circular dichroism with tunable values ranging from 0 to 0.59 at 1.535 THz by regulating the graphene's Fermi level. The physical mechanism underlying the differential absorption is explained, and the influence of the device's structural parameters and incident angle on the performance is also investigated. This work provides a practical basis for the development of terahertz functional devices in polarization detection and near-field imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-layer transition-metal dichalcogenides provide an unique intrinsic entanglement between the spin/valley/orbital degrees of freedom and the polarization of scattered photons. This scenario gives rise to the well-assessed optical dichroism observed by using both steady and time-resolved probes. In this paper, we provide compact analytical modeling of the onset of a finite Faraday/Kerr optical rotation upon shining with circularly polarized light. We identify different optical features displaying optical rotation at different characteristic energies, and we describe in an analytical framework the time-dependence of their intensities as a consequence of the main spin-conserving and spin-flip processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although more than 10% of the human genome has the potential to fold into non- B DNA, the formation of non-canonical structural motifs as part of long dsDNA chains are usually considered as unfavorable from a thermodynamic point of view. However, recent experiments have confirmed that non-canonical motifs do exist and are non-randomly distributed in genomic DNA. This distribution is highly dependent not only on the DNA sequence but also on various other factors such as environmental conditions, DNA topology and the expression of specific cellular factors in different cell types. In this study, we describe a new strategy used in the preparation of DNA minicircles containing different non-canonical motifs which arise as a result of imperfect base pairing between complementary strands. The approach exploits the fact that imperfections in the pairing of complementary strands thermodynamically weaken the dsDNA structure at the expense of enhancing the formation of non-canonical motifs. In this study, a completely different concept of stable integration of a non-canonical motif into dsDNA is presented. Our approach allows the integration of various types of non-canonical motifs into the dsDNA structure such as hairpin, cruciform, G-quadruplex and i-motif forms but also combinations of these forms. Small DNA minicircles have recently become the subject of considerable interest in both fundamental research and in terms of their potential therapeutic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous solids do not exhibit long-range order due to the disordered arrangement of atoms. They lack translational and rotational symmetry on a macroscopic scale and are therefore isotropic. As a result, differential absorption of polarized light, called dichroism, is not known to exist in amorphous solids. Using helical light beams that carry orbital angular momentum as a probe, we demonstrate that dichroism is intrinsic to both amorphous and crystalline solids. We show that in the nonlinear regime, helical dichroism is responsive to the short-range order and its origin is explained in terms of interband multiphoton assisted tunneling. We also demonstrate that the helical dichroism signal is sensitive to chirality and its strength can be controlled and tuned using a superposition of OAM and Gaussian beams. Our research challenges the conventional knowledge that dichroism does not exist in amorphous solids and enables to manipulate the optical properties of solids. Differential absorption of polarized light, called dichroism, does not exist in amorphous solids due to the disordered arrangements of atoms. Here, the authors demonstrate that dichroism is intrinsic to all solids and can be controlled using helical light beams carrying orbital angular momentum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that a linearly polarized optical beam incident on a linearly dichroic nematic liquid crystal cell with a topological defect of the topological strength q and linear dichroism, transforms into a composite vector beam consisting of elementary vector beams with the polarization singularity orders m=2q and m=q. Consequently, it has been proved that due to the linear dichroism a liquid crystal defect of the topological strength q=1 transforms an incident circularly polarized beam into a composite vortex beam consisting of the double-charged vortex beam and vector-vortex beam with polarization order and topological charge that are equal to unity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was undertaken to investigate the interaction between the sodium channel blocker amiloride (AML) and human serum albumin (HSA). A combination of multi-spectroscopic techniques and computational methods were employed to identify the AML binding site on HSA and the forces responsible for the formation of the HSA–AML complex. Our findings revealed that AML specifically binds to Sudlow's site II, located in subdomain IIIA of HSA, and that the complex formed is stabilized using van der Waals hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions. FRET analysis showed that the distance between AML and Trp214 was optimal for efficient quenching. UV-Vis spectroscopy and circular dichroism indicated minor changes in the structure of HSA after AML binding, and molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) conducted over 100 ns provided additional evidence of stable HSA–AML-complex formation. This study enhances understanding of the interaction between AML and HSA and the mechanism responsible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Mueller polarimetry is applied to study the three groups of common barley leaf samples (Hordeum vulgare) in the visible spectrum (λ = 632.8 nm): Chlorina mutant, Chlorina etiolated mutant and Cesaer varieties. These samples differed in internal leaf structure from genetic mutation or by illumination during growth. Our main concern is to discriminate and characterize these three groups of leaf samples by depolarization metrics: degree of polarization (DoP), average degree of polarization (Average DoP), depolarization index (DI(M)), and Q(M) and R(M) metrics. The results obtained show that all depolarization metrics are sensitive to the sample's polarization properties. The most effective observable is the Q(M) metric in both forward and backward scattering. The DoP metric showed presence of depolarization anisotropy, which is significantly different for forward and backward scattering for all three groups of samples. Dichroism is observed for both forward and backward scattering, with lower dichroism in forward scattering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization, one of the fundamental properties of light, is critical for certain imaging applications because it captures information from the scene that cannot directly be recorded by traditional intensity cameras. Currently, mainstream approaches for polarization imaging rely on strong dichroism of birefringent crystals or artificially fabricated structures that exhibit a high diattenuation typically exceeding 99%, which corresponds to a polarization extinction ratio (PER) >~100. This not only limits the transmission efficiency of light, but also makes them either offer narrow operational bandwidth or be non-responsive to the circular polarization. Here, we demonstrate a single-shot full-Stokes polarization camera incorporating a disordered metasurface array with weak dichroism. The diattenuation of the metasurface array is ~65%, which corresponds to a PER of ~2. Within the framework of compressed sensing, the proposed disordered metasurface array serves as an efficient sensing matrix. By incorporating a mask-aware reconstruction algorithm, the signal can be accurately recovered with a high probability. In our experiments, the proposed approach exhibits high-accuracy full-Stokes polarimetry and high-resolution real-time polarization imaging. Our demonstration highlights the potential of combining meta-optics with reconstruction algorithms as a promising approach for advanced imaging applications. Polarization imaging can capture information from the scene that cannot directly be recorded by traditional intensity cameras. Here, authors demonstrate a single-shot full Stokes polarization camera incorporating a disordered metasurface array with weak dichroism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dichroism effects, i.e., asymmetries of the ionization probability with respect to the inversion of either the atomic orientation (magnetic dichroism, MD) or the circular polarization degree of the photon beam (circular dichroism, CD), are investigated using the time-dependent perturbation theory (PT). It is shown that the magnitude of these effects depends not only on the polarization states of the atom and laser pulse but also on the intensity and duration of the latter. We find that the CD can also be observed in the ionization of oriented initial bound states, which is impossible in long-pulse ionization. Predictions of our PT analysis are supported by the results obtained by numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) describing the ionization of the excited 2P-states of the hydrogen atom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonreciprocal directional dichroism (NDD) is a phenomenon in which the optical absorption is changed by reversing the direction of light propagation or the sign of the magnetic order parameters. While the NDD has mostly been observed in materials with macroscopic magnetization, recent experiments have shown that the NDD can be induced by a specific antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin structure that breaks both space-inversion and time-reversal symmetries. This opens the possibility of visualizing the spatial distribution of AFM domains via the NDD effect. This article reviews the basic features of the NDD, a brief history of the NDD in AFM materials, and recent achievements in visualizing AFM domains via the NDD and related optical responses, and finally provides a perspective on applications of this method for future AFM spintronics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarimetry encompasses a collection of optical techniques broadly used in a variety of fields. Nowadays, such techniques have provided their suitability in the biomedical field through the study of the polarimetric response of biological samples (retardance, dichroism and depolarization) by measuring certain polarimetric observables. One of these features, depolarization, is mainly produced by scattering on samples, which is a predominant effect in turbid media as biological tissues. In turn, retardance and dichroic effects are produced by tissue anisotropies and can lead to depolarization too. Since depolarization is a predominant effect in tissue samples, we focus on studying different depolarization metrics for biomedical applications. We report the suitability of a set of depolarizing observables, the indices of polarimetric purity (IPPs), for biological tissue inspection. We review some results where we demonstrate that IPPs lead to better performance than the depolarization index, which is a well-established and commonly used depolarization observable in the literature. We also provide how IPPs are able to significantly enhance contrast between different tissue structures and even to reveal structures hidden by using standard intensity images. Finally, we also explore the classificatory potential of IPPs and other depolarizing observables for the discrimination of different tissues obtained from ex vivo chicken samples (muscle, tendon, myotendinous junction and bone), reaching accurate models for tissue classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we suggest a design for a chiral metasurface at optical frequencies that shows a high level of circular dichroism (CD) of 0.94. By breaking the in-plane asymmetry and exciting the quasi-bound states in the continuum (quasi-BICs), a high Q-factor was obtained, which greatly enhances the interaction between light and matter. Then, the multipole decomposition was confirmed to analyze its mode of excitation. The proposed design may provide new possibilities for high-performance optical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a diarrhoeal pathogen associated with high morbidity and mortality especially among young children in developing countries. At present, there is no vaccine for ETEC. One candidate vaccine antigen, EtpA, is a conserved secreted adhesin that binds to the tips of flagellae to bridge ETEC to host intestinal glycans. EtpA is exported through a Gram-negative, two-partner secretion system (TPSS, type Vb) comprised of the secreted EtpA passenger (TpsA) protein and EtpB (TpsB) transporter that is integrated into the outer bacterial membrane. TpsA proteins share a conserved, N-terminal TPS domain followed by an extensive C-terminal domain with divergent sequence repeats. Two soluble, N-terminal constructs of EtpA were prepared and analysed respectively including residues 67 to 447 (EtpA67-447) and 1 to 606 (EtpA1-606). The crystal structure of EtpA67-447 solved at 1.76 Å resolution revealed a right-handed parallel β-helix with two extra-helical hairpins and an N-terminal β-strand cap. Analyses by circular dichroism spectroscopy confirmed the β-helical fold and indicated high resistance to chemical and thermal denaturation as well as rapid refolding. A theoretical AlphaFold model of full-length EtpA largely concurs with the crystal structure adding an extended β-helical C-terminal domain after an interdomain kink. We propose that robust folding of the TPS domain upon secretion provides a template to extend the N-terminal β-helix into the C-terminal domains of TpsA proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) has been largely used to investigate organic compounds: Langmuir–Blodgett and Langmuir–Schaeffer layers, the organic molecular beam epitaxy growth in situ and in real time, thin and ultrathin organic films exposed to volatiles, in ultra-high vacuum (UHV), in controlled atmosphere and even in liquid. In all these cases, porphyrins and porphyrin-related compounds have often been used, taking advantage of the peculiar characteristics of RAS with respect to other techniques. The technical modification of a RAS spectrometer (CD-RAS: circular dichroism RAS) allows us to investigate the circular dichroism of samples instead of the normally studied linear dichroism: CD-RAS measures (in transmission mode) the anisotropy of the optical properties of a sample under right and left circularly polarized light. Although commercial spectrometers exist to measure the circular dichroism of substances, the "open structure" of this new spectrometer and its higher flexibility in design makes it possible to couple it with UHV systems or other experimental configurations. The importance of chirality in the development of organic materials (from solutions to the solid state, as thin layers deposited—in liquid or in vacuum—on transparent substrates) could open interesting possibilities to a development in the investigation of the chirality of organic and biological layers. In this manuscript, after the detailed explanation of the CD-RAS technique, some calibration tests with chiral porphyrin assemblies in solution or deposited in solid film are reported to demonstrate the quality of the results, comparing curves obtained with CD-RAS and a commercial spectrometer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial nanostructures with large optical chiral responses have been intensively investigated recently. In this work, we propose a diffractive circular dichroism enhancement technique using stereoscopic plasmonic molecule structures. According to the multipole expansion analysis, the z-component of the electric dipole becomes the dominant chiral scattering mechanism during the interaction between an individual plasmonic molecule and the plane wave at a grazing angle. For a periodical structure with the designed plasmonic molecule, large diffractive circular dichroism can be obtained, which can be associated with the Wood–Rayleigh anomaly. Such a diffractive circular dichroism enhancement is verified by the good agreement between numerical simulations and experimental results. The proposed approach can be potentially used to develop enhanced spectroscopy techniques to measure chiral information, which is very important for fundamental physical and chemical research and bio-sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To quantitatively describe the thermochromic properties of films of isotactic polypropylene, a large-tonnage polymer widely used in the production of flexible packaging for goods and foodstuffs, as well as substantiate the possibility of covert labeling of transparent packaging.Methods. Differential scanning calorimetry, polarization photometry, infrared Fourier spectrometry, gravimetry, temperature control, physical and mechanical strength testing.Results. The identified thermochromic effect of dichroism in polarized light on industrial samples of transparent biaxially oriented film of isotactic polypropylene was studied. A change in the phase composition of the film-forming composition during short-term heating during marking was established. The absence of heat shrinkage and change in transparency in non-polarized light was shown, which provides the possibility of hidden recording of information and its contrast manifestation in a passing light stream at a certain arrangement of light filters.Conclusions. The causes and optimal conditions of the thermochromic effect are established. It is proposed to use local contact heat treatment of a polypropylene film for covert recording of information and marking of product packaging in order to protect against counterfeiting.

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) has emerged as a molecular-selective imaging technology based on optical absorption contrast. Dichroism-sensitive photoacoustic (DS-PA) imaging has been reported, where the absorption coefficient has a vector characteristic, featuring dimensions of contrast in polarization and wavelength. Herein, we present a DS-PA microscopy (DS-PAM) system that implements optical anisotropy contrast and molecular selectivity. Moreover, we propose mathematical solutions to fully derive dichroic properties. A wavelength for the PAI of collagenous tissue was used, and the proposed algorithms were validated using linear dichroic materials. We successfully mapped dichroic information in fibrous tissue imaging based on the degree of anisotropy and axis orientation, and also deduced mechanical assessment from the tissue arrangement. The proposed DS-PAM system and algorithms have great potential in various diagnostic fields using polarimetry, such as musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems.

Copolymer films of photoalignable liquid crystalline (LC) copolymethacrylates comprised of a phenyl benzoate mesogen connected with N-benzylideneaniline end moiety (NBA2) and benzoic acid (BA) side groups exhibit a photoinduced reorientation behavior. Significant thermally stimulated molecular reorientation attains a dichroism (D) greater than 0.7 for all copolymer films and a birefringence of 0.113–0.181. In situ thermal hydrolysis of the oriented NBA2 groups decreases the birefringence to 0.111–0.128. However, the oriented structures of the film are maintained, demonstrating a photo-durability, even though the NBA2 side groups photo-react. The hydrolyzed oriented films show higher photo-durability without changing their optical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical anisotropy offers an extra degree of freedom to dynamically and reversibly regulate polarizing optical components, such as polarizers, without extra energy consumption and with high modulating efficiency. In this paper, we theoretically and numerically design broadband and incident-angle-modulation near-infrared polarizers, based on the SnSe, whose optical anisotropy is quantitatively evaluated by the complete dielectric tensor, complex refractive index tensor, and derived birefringence (~|Δn|max = 0.4) and dichroism (~|Δk|max = 0.4). The bandwidth of a broadband polarizer is 324 nm, from 1262 nm to 1586 nm, with an average extinction ratio above 23 dB. For the incident-angle-modulation near-infrared polarizer, the high incident angles dynamically and reversibly modulate its working wavelength with a maximum extinction ratio of 71 dB. Numerical simulations and theoretical calculations reveal that the considerable absorption for p light and continuously and relatively low absorption of s light lead to the broadband polarizer, while the incident-angle-modulation one mainly arises from the blue shift of corresponding wavelength of p light's minimum reflectance. The proposed novel design of polarizers based on SnSe are likely to be mass-produced and integrated into an on-chip system, which opens up a new thought to design polarizing optical components by utilizing other low-symmetry materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost always, Congo red-stained amyloid between polariser and analyser is said to show "green birefringence" or "apple-green birefringence". In 2010, we found that not all published images showed green, and not all that did showed only green. This systematic review of more recent papers was to find if there had been any improvement in the accuracy of reporting. MEDLINE was searched on 15 March 2021 for papers published between 2010 and 2020 inclusive mentioning amyloid and Congo red. These were examined for descriptions of colours, which were compared with images. Papers were searched for mentions of anomalous colours, errors in physical optics, and misquotation of references about polarisation. In 374 papers, there were 444 descriptions of colours, with 511 images in 257 papers. The commonest descriptions were apple-green, 249/444 (56%), and green, 105/444 (24%). The description agreed with colours seen in 116/511 images (23%) (previously 64/191, 34%). Green was seen in 342/511 images (67%) (previously 159/191, 83%), but not in 169/511 (33%), although each image was reported to show green. Green alone was seen in 103/511 images (20%) (previously 59/191, 31%), and was combined with at least one other colour in 239/511 (47%). Ten papers included the term anomalous. Eight papers incorrectly said that there was green dichroism, three incorrectly used the term green metachromasia, and two incorrectly mentioned green fluorescence. Twenty-seven papers misquoted references. There is widespread and increasing inaccuracy of reporting of colours seen in Congo red-stained amyloid. People persist in saying "green birefringence" or "apple-green birefringence", even when no green is seen, or there are also other colours. Few appear to appreciate that the other colours are genuine, respectable, and helpful, the physical optical principles that explain the colours are now understood, and the best expression to use is anomalous colours. "Green birefringence" and "apple-green birefringence" are inappropriate terms to describe the findings in amyloid stained with Congo red and examined between crossed polariser and analyser, because green is not always seen, and even when it is, other colours are commonly seen as well. The proportions of colour images showing any green and green alone, and the proportion of descriptions that agreed with illustrated colours, significantly decreased in 2010–2020 compared with earlier. The most appropriate and scientific description of the findings is anomalous colours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering the chiroptical responses of artificial nanostructures is vital for realizing applications in the fields of optical devices, enantioselective separation, and bio-sensing. Here, by utilizing the nano-kirigami based meta-molecule arrays, the flexible engineering of circular dichroism (CD) is achieved in the near-infrared wavelength region by the excitation of chiral surface lattice resonances (SLRs). It is found that the chiral SLRs can be flexibly tailored by a tiny structural perturbation. As a result, the wavelength, intensity, and sign of CD peak/dip can be abruptly engineered. Specifically, a CD peak with the value of +0.44 is evolved into a CD dip with an intensity of −0.66 when the etching silt length of the meta-molecules is simply decreased by 190 nm. Importantly, such CD reversal is experimentally demonstrated with the nano-kirigami method without requiring the inversion of geometric chirality. Moreover, it is found that the asymmetric dielectric environment around the meta-molecules can significantly suppress the chiral SLRs, providing an insightful understanding of the chiral SLR. Such flexible tailoring of the CD with chiral SLRs paves a versatile way toward the manipulation of chiral light–matter interactions and chiroptical functional devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chirality depends on particular symmetries. For crystal structures it describes the absence of mirror planes and inversion centers, and in addition to translations, only rotations are allowed as symmetry elements. However, chiral space groups have additional restrictions on the allowed screw rotations as a symmetry element, because they always appear in enantiomorphous pairs. This study classifies and distinguishes the chiral structures and space groups. Chirality is quantified using Hausdorff distances and continuous chirality measures and selected crystal structures are reported. Chirality is discussed for bulk solids and their surfaces. Moreover, the band structure, and thus, the density of states, is found to be affected by the same crystal parameters as chirality. However, it is independent of handedness. The Berry curvature, as a topological measure of the electronic structure, depends on the handedness but is not proof of chirality because it responds to the inversion of a structure. For molecules, optical circular dichroism is one of the most important measures for chirality. Thus, it is proposed in this study that the circular dichroism in the angular distribution of photoelectrons in high symmetry configurations can be used to distinguish the handedness of chiral solids and their surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the double photoemission process from a Cu(100) surface with circular polarized light using coincidence spectroscopy. The handedness of the photon can be imprinted onto the emitted electron pair. The proof of this assertion lies in a helicity dependence in the electron pair intensity. We selected a photon energy that allowed the emission of the 3 p core electron. Therefore, we recorded coincidences from the 3 p electron and associated Auger electron. An additional pathway of double photoemission is the absorption of the photon by the valence band without the participation of a core electron. Adopting a chiral detection geometry, we were able to observe nonvanishing dichroism signals in both pathways of double photoemission. Hence, the emitted electron pair is chiral. Furthermore, the existence of this effect in our geometry implies that the Auger decay upon Cu 3 p excitation proceeds in a single step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new spectrophotometric technique for the determination of both ordinary and extraordinary complex refractive indices (CRIs) of a stretched polyethylene terephthalate (Mylar) film is proposed. The sample was placed between two identical polarizers, and the transmission spectra of two different configurations (incident polarization parallel and perpendicular to the Mylar film optical axis) were recorded. Ordinary and extraordinary complex refractive indices are then extracted by fitting the experimental spectra with a theoretical model that we had elaborated in advance. A new formula for transmittance dispersion, based on the Fresnel's coefficients formalism and using the Cauchy model, was derived to describe n and κ wavelength dependence. The suggested theoretical model succeeded in reproducing the Mylar transmission spectra across the entire visible spectral range (400, 750 nm) for both configurations, and the retrieved dispersion curves of the refractive indices, extinction coefficients, and the birefringence are comparable to results found in the literature. The proposed method is fast, straightforward, easy to set up, and cost-effective. It proved to be an excellent alternative to more conventional methods such as spectroscopic ellipsometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetoelectrics with ultra-low symmetry and spin-orbit coupling are well known to display a number of remarkable properties including nonreciprocal directional dichroism. As a polar and chiral magnet, Ni3TeO6 is predicted to host this effect in three fundamentally different configurations, although only two have been experimentally verified. Inspired by the opportunity to unravel the structure-property relations of such a unique light-matter interaction, we combined magneto-optical spectroscopy and first-principles calculations to reveal nonreciprocity in the toroidal geometry and compared our findings with the chiral configurations. We find that formation of Ni toroidal moments is responsible for the largest effects near 1.1 eV—a tendency that is captured by our microscopic model and computational implementation. At the same time, we demonstrate deterministic control of nonreciprocal directional dichroism in Ni3TeO6 across the entire telecom wavelength range. This discovery will accelerate the development of photonics applications that take advantage of unusual symmetry characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectral dependences of birefringence and dichroism in magnetic colloids of magnetite nanoparticles have been studied. The results demonstrate that previously reported spectra of the refractive index of bulk magnetite are poorly suited for quantitative and qualitative interpretation of optical effects in magnetic fluids. Data on magneto-optical effects in magnetic colloids have been used to determine spectra of the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index of nanoparticulate magnetite in the wavelength range 400–1050 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jones–Stokes polarimetry is a robust in vitro polarimetric technique that can be used to investigate the anisotropic properties of a birefringent medium. The study of spatially resolved Jones matrix components of an object is a heuristic approach to extract its phase and polarization information. However, direct interpretation of Jones matrix elements and their decomposition into associated anisotropic properties of a sample is still a challenging research problem that needs to be investigated. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate combined Jones–Stokes polarimetry to investigate the amplitude, phase, and polarization modulation characteristics of a twisted nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator (TNLC-SLM). The anisotropic response of the SLM is calibrated for its entire grayscale range. We determine the inevitable anisotropic properties viz., diattenuation, retardance, isotropic absorption, birefringence, and dichroism, which are retrieved from the measured Jones matrices of the SLM using Jones polar decomposition and a novel algebraic approach for Jones matrix decomposition. The results of this study provide a complete polarimetric calibration of the SLM within the framework of its anisotropic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Lycurgus cup" effect, referring dichroism between reflection and transmission modes of the same structures, is a peculiar phenomenon of multi-faceted display in structural color. Beyond the static dichrotic display, the realization of dynamic dichroism desires active materials and tunable structures, and owns the great demand from smart display, anti-counterfeiting and environmental sensing. We hereby propose a metal-hydrogel-metal (MHM) nanocavity for dynamic dichrotic display. This structure includes thin silver layers to induce the partial transmission with the existing reflection, and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel layer owning the swelling/deswelling deformability to humidity change. The following experimental measurements and theoretical analysis prove that the reflection and transmission modes exist at distinct wavelengths, and the swelling hydrogel layer by humidity change between 10 and 90% RH can dynamically modulate the dichrotic resonance with the wavelength shift over 100 nm. Such environmental-sensitive and real-time tunable dichroism with hydrogel-based structural color is then verified for multi-color printing, resolution test, and cycling test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in crystalline solid often produces exotic nonreciprocal phenomena. As one such example, the unconventional optical rotation with nonreciprocity, which is termed gyrotropic birefringence, is expected to emerge from the magnetoelectric coupling. However, the fundamental nature of gyrotropic birefringence remains to be examined. Here w'e demonstrate the gyrotropic birefringence enhanced by the dynamical magnetoelectric coupling on the electrically active magnon resonance, i.e. electromagnon, in a multiferroic helimagnet. The helical spin order having both polarity and chirality is found to cause the giant gyrotropic birefringence in addition to the conventional gyrotropy, i.e. natural optical activity. It is demonstrated that the optical rotation of gyrotropic birefringence can be viewed as the nonreciprocal rotation of the optical principal axes, while the crystallographic and magnetic anisotropies are intact. The independent control of the nonreciprocal linear (gyrotropic birefringence) and circular (natural optical activity) birefringence/dichroism paves a way for the optically active devices. Gyrotropic birefringence is expected to emerge from the magnetoelectric coupling. Here, the authors find polarity and chirality arising from the helical spin order exhibit enhanced optical activities, gyrotropic birefringence and natural optical activity, on the electromagnon resonance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this review, the technique of resonant soft X-ray reflectivity in the study of magnetic low-dimensional systems is discussed. This technique is particularly appealing in the study of magnetization at buried interfaces and to discriminate single elemental contributions to magnetism, even when this is ascribed to few atoms. The major fields of application are described, including magnetic proximity effects, thin films of transition metals and related oxides, and exchange-bias systems. The fundamental theoretical background leading to dichroism effects in reflectivity is also briefly outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Various azoderivative dyes were incorporated in uncolored poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH). One type of film was obtained by drying the layer of solution cast on glass plate. The other type was obtained by rubbing the PVOH layer before complete drying. Linear birefringence and dichroism of dyed polymer films were investigated as a function of stretching degree. An increase in the linear birefringence was found with increasing stretching degree for both uncolored and colored films. Dichroism of the PVOH films depends on the dye chemical structure and also on the stretching degree of both non‐rubbed and rubbed and dyed PVOH samples. Molecular modeling was used to examine interactions occurring between PVOH and the embedded dye molecule. These stretching degree dependencies were approximated mathematically, which was used to describe the behavior of some components of interference filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic nanoparticles are small particles, with dimensions of less than 100 nm, which have unique characteristics. For example, the color of a nanoparticle solution is given by the surface plasmon resonance, in contrast to only absorbance of a molecule. Metallic nanoparticles have been used in the antiquity for the production of colored glass. Many of the medieval cathedral red windows are in fact, stained with gold nanoparticles. However, presenting just a red solution to a class and explaining that the solution contains gold nanoparticles can be disappointing as the red color can be obtained in many different ways without the need of nanoparticles. Something peculiar, like dichroism, can, on the other hand, shine the interest of an observer to the “nano-world”. Dichroic nanoparticles show different colors when illuminated from the front (scattering) or from the back (transmission). This effect is unique for nanoparticles and nanostructures in general and can generate the “WOW” effect in class or during public demonstrations. In this article we present a simple synthesis of dichroic silver and gold nanoparticles. Solutions of such nanoparticles are a stunning visual media for demonstrations, outreach and engaging audience in the “nano”world.

The Lycurgus cup is an ancient glass artefact that shows dichroism as it looks green when a white light is reflected on it and a red colouring appears when a white light is transmitted through it. This peculiar dichroic effect is due to silver and gold nanoparticles present in the glass. In this research we show the synthesis of dichroic silver nanoparticles and their embedding in a 3D printable nanocomposite. The addition of gold nanoparticles to the silver nanoparticle composite, gave a 3D printable nanocomposite with the same dichroism effect of the Lycurgus cup.

We have designed, developed, and evaluated an innovative portable magneto-optical detector (MOD) in which a light beam with variable polarization passes through a fluid sample immersed in a variable magnetic field. The light intensity is measured downstream along the forward scattering direction. The field is turned on and off through the in-and-out motion of nearby permanent magnets. As a result, for sufficiently, magnetically, and optically anisotropic samples, the optical absorption is sensitive to changes in the light polarization. Both detection and characterization applications are, therefore, available. For instance, both the degree of malaria infection and hemozoin crystalline properties can be measured and studied, respectively. We present experimental results for synthetic hemozoin and describe them in terms of the basic physics and chemistry underlying the correlations of the directions of the external magnetic field and the light beam polarization. We connect this work to a commercialized product for malaria detection and compare it with other magneto-optical instruments and methods. We conduct tests of absorption parameters and the electric polarizability tensor, and we discuss the connection to magnetic and electric dipole moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various efforts have been made to detect minimum amounts of any toxic materials in water or the neurotoxic effect of venom (Odontobuthus Doriae Scorpion) in the human's blood serum nerve by high-sensitivity, accurate, and low-cost sensors in order to enhance life style. Therefore, the present study was done to investigate reliability of two-dimensional plasmonic structure and circular dichroism (CD) in toxic samples in order to measure and determine venom concentrations and its neurotoxic effect on humans҆ blood serum Neurotransmitter analytes. Our results confirmed dependency of CD signal to neurotoxic effect of venom concentrations and good sensitivity of this sensor with the help of achiral plasmonic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, liquid-crystal (LC) textures with non-uniform directorfield configurations and azimuthal singularities are considered from the viewpoint of their applications for generating vector and scalar optical vortex beams. To generate a composite vector beam, a LC sample should be light-absorbing and dichroic. For generating a scalar vortex beam, a fork-like defect should be formed in a LC cell. To assess quantitatively these possibilities, we perform optical characterization of a dyedoped nematic. Namely, we employ known characterization techniques for measuring ordinary and extraordinary light absorption indices, linear dichroism, dispersion of linear-birefringence increment, and a scalar orientational order parameter. Since a light-absorbing dopant used by us is a fluorescent dye, the vector beams can be obtained in either transmitted or fluorescent lights. For this reason, we also measure the fluorescence of our dye-doped nematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]