  It is demonstrated that strong laser pulses can introduce torsional motion in
the axially chiral molecule 3,5-diflouro-3',5'-dibromo-biphenyl (DFDBrBPh). A
nanosecond laser pulse spatially aligns the stereogenic carbon-carbon (C-C)
bond axis allowing a perpendicularly polarized, intense femtosecond pulse to
initiate torsional motion accompanied by a rotation about the fixed axis. We
monitor the induced motion by femtosecond time-resolved Coulomb explosion
imaging. Our theoretical analysis corroborates the experimental findings and on
the basis of these results we discuss future applications of laser induced
torsion, viz., time-resolved studies of de-racemization and laser controlled
molecular junctions based on molecules with torsion.
