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TERAHERTZ
CIRCULAR DICHROISM: ABSORPTION TERAHERTZ SPECTRUM FOR LIQUID WATER
Chirality is believed to be a general and unique trait of life.
Chiral macromolecules absorb broadly and strongly at terahertz frequencies.
We are developing a novel terahertz circular dichroism spectrometer.
We use the intense and broadly tunable terahertz radiation from
the UCSB free electron laser to measure differential absorption
of circularly polarized light of biological polymers in aqueous
solution. We aim to examine the feasibility of terahertz circular
dichroism spectroscopy as a universal technique for detecting and
finger-printing bio-polymers. Our secondary science goal is to measure
the absorption coefficients of liquid water at the terahertz range.
This will help us study the properties of liquid water.
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