Friction-induced enhancement in the optical activity of interacting chiral molecules

The stability of chiral molecules described by a non-linear two-state system which accounts for mean-field interactions between different isomers, including any external chiral influence (in particular, the parity violating energy difference) is investigated. By introducing the population and phase difference of the chiral states as a pair of canonical variables, driving an analogy to a bosonic Josephson junction, our study to include dissipative effects in condensed phase described by a Caldeira-Leggett like Hamiltonian is extended using the Langevin formalism. Dissipative effects produce an enhancement in the population difference, not leading to racemization. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe