I'm wondering if someone can give me a physically motivated reason for why chiral molecules interact with left and right circularly polarized light (LCP) (RCP) differently. Particularly, a quantum mechanical view of what's happening here.
I understand why it is that a molecule has to be chiral in order for it to manifest circular dichroism (my use of terminology may not be perfect here so I apologize). That is, both the electric and magnetic dipole operators must be non-zero and there's an argument here on the basis of point groups.
Nothing about that, however, is particularly illuminating when it comes to understanding why I should expect a molecule to interact differently with LCP and RCP light.
I don't know what else I can even say. A good answer would address the different behavior of both the light and the molecule in these different situations, as I imagine that's a necessary piece to the puzzle.
Also, if one has some references (a review or textbook chapter etc.) that would be appreciated.