Limit on the Parity Nonconserving Energy Difference between the Enantiomers of a Chiral Molecule by Laser Spectroscopy

Abstract

We have developed a saturation spectroscopy experiment to test the prediction that enantiomers of chiral molecules have different spectra because of the parity violation associated with neutral currents in the weak interaction between electrons and nuclei. First experimental tests have been conducted on hyperfine components of vibration-rotation transitions of CHFClBr in the $9.3\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ spectral range. The frequencies of saturation resonances of separated enantiomers have been compared and found to be identical within 13 Hz ( $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\nu}/\ensuremath{\nu}<{4.10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}$).