Light is a very powerful and precise tool, allowing us to control¹, shape^2,3 and create new phases⁴ of matter. In such tasks, the magnetic component of a light wave is essential in defining the wave’s helicity, but it influences the optical response of matter only weakly. Chiral molecules offer a typical example, in which the weakness of magnetic interactions hampers our ability to control the strength of their chiro-optical response⁵, limiting it at several orders of magnitude below the full potential. Here, we introduce and theoretically analyse a new type of chiral light: freely propagating, locally and globally chiral electric fields, which interact with chiral matter extremely efficiently. We show that this synthetic chiral light enables full control over the intensity, polarization and propagation direction of the nonlinear enantio-sensitive optical response of randomly oriented chiral molecules. This response can be quenched or enhanced at will in a desired enantiomer, opening up efficient ways to control chiral matter and for ultrafast imaging of chiral dynamics in gases, liquids and solids.

光线是一种非常强大且精确的工具，它使我们能够控制¹，塑造^2，3并创建物质的新阶段⁴。在此类任务中，光波的磁性成分对于定义波的螺旋度至关重要，但它对物质的光学响应的​​影响很小。手性分子提供了一个典型的例子，其中电磁相互作用的弱点阻碍了我们控制其手性光学响应强度的能力⁵，将其限制在低于全部潜力的几个数量级。在这里，我们介绍并从理论上分析了一种新型的手性光：自由传播的局部和全局手性电场，它们与手性物质的相互作用极为有效。我们表明，这种合成手性光能够完全控制随机取向的手性分子的非线性对映敏感光学响应的​​强度，极化和传播方向。可以在所需对映异构体中随意淬灭或增强这种反应，从而开辟了有效的方法来控制手性物质，以及对气体，液体和固体中的手性动力学进行超快速成像。