Observation of optical chemical shift by precision nuclear spin optical rotation measurements and calculations

Nuclear spin optical rotation (NSOR) is a recently developed technique for detection of nuclear magnetic resonance via rotation of light polarization, instead of the usual long-range magnetic fields. NSOR signals depend on hyperfine interactions with virtual optical excitations, giving new information about the nuclear chemical environment. We use a multipass optical cell to perform the first precision measurements of NSOR signals for a range of organic liquids and find clear distinction between proton signals for different compounds, in agreement with our earlier theoretical predictions. Detailed first-principles quantum mechanical NSOR calculations are found to be in agreement with the measurements.