Enantiomer-Specific Nucleation Phase Selection under Nonequilibrium Optical Trapping

Raman spectroscopy reveals constant local stoichiometry during irradiation, indicating the absence of a macroscopic polarization-induced concentration gradient. Instead, the results are consistent with a proposed mechanism where phase selection is driven by a polarization-dependent kinetic bias under strongly nonequilibrium conditions. We propose that this bias originates from subtle differences in the residence dynamics of transient nanoscale clusters within the optical trapping field, which are statistically amplified over time. These findings highlight a sophisticated kinetic route for controlling crystallization beyond conventional thermodynamic strategies.