Manifestations of the optical activity of molecules in the dipole photoeffect

Abstract

The lack of a plane of symmetry in the structure of optically active molecules leads, even in the dipole approximation, to the appearance of five new terms in the angular distribution of photoelectrons with defined spin orientation ejected from unoriented molecules by circularly polarised light. The vector structure of these terms is presented, and the possibility of their detection is discussed. Photoionisation of oriented chiral molecules is also discussed briefly.