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Chirality is a fundamental property of matter that determines many biological, chemical and physical phenomena. Chiral solids, for example, offer exciting opportunities for catalysis, sensing and optical devices by enabling unique interactions with chiral molecules and polarized light. These properties are however established when the material is grown, that is, the left- and right-handed enantiomers cannot be converted into one another without melting and recrystallization. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) and the University of Oxford have shown that terahertz light can induce chirality in a non-chiral crystal, allowing either left- or right-handed enantiomers to emerge on demand. The finding, reported in Science, opens up exciting possibilities for exploring novel non-equilibrium phenomena in complex materials. more

MPSD Director Philip Moll has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) for his achievements in the field of microstructured quantum matter. more

The renewed funding comes from Columbia University, the Flatiron Institute, the MPSD and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany. The New York Center will also expand to include Cornell University as a new partner institution. more

With the ERC Starting Grant, Chunyu Guo will investigate the novel effects of electronic correlations in the recently discovered AV₃Sb₅ family of Kagome superconductors using a high-precision framework that isolates the samples from external influences. more

The MPSD has officially opened its  new state-of-the-art research building in Hamburg. The President of the Max Planck Society, Professor Patrick Cramer, and the Second Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Science Senator Katharina Fegebank, were guests of honor at the opening ceremony.  more