Conveners
FEL: Session - 3
- Karel Saksl (TUKE)
FEL: Session - 4
- Libor Juha (Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Science, Prague, Czechia)
FEL: Session - 5
- Ulf Zastrau (European XFEL)
FEL: Session - 6
- Serguei Molodtsov (European XFEL)
Smaller, faster, more intense: The X-Ray Free Electron Lasers (XFEL’s) are opening up areas of research that were previously inaccessible. Using the X-ray flashes of XFEL’s, scientists are able to map the atomic details of viruses, decipher the molecular composition of cells, take three-dimensional images of the nanoworld, film chemical reactions, and study processes such as those occurring...
The advent of the first X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), FLASH in 2004 and LCLS in 2009, may prove to be the most profound development since the invention of the laser and, equally, the synchrotron. Sharp improvements in a number of laser parameters, most notably intensity and pulse duration, support this expectation. This brings scientific dreams within reach. Indeed, the unprecedented...
Comprehensive knowledge of ultrafast out-of-equilibrium dynamics in materials is essential to identify the microscopic processes that govern their electronic, magnetic and structural properties. Controlling these processes with light may ultimately enable optically driven functional devices that exploit quantum coherence, collective excitations and transient states of matter.
Many of the...
To resolve ultrafast events, we typically rely on controlled probe pulses that are shorter than the delay between these events. Likewise, to resolve closely-spaced spectral lines, we need to achieve a spectrometer resolution better than their spacing. These statements appear correct, at first. Here, we shed light on this common wisdom, statistically structured light to be more precise....
Electrons move the world. They drive our electronic devices and every chemical reaction in nature. To understand and control electron motion, we have to catch it in the act—inside materials and at their interfaces. But electrons are hard to pin down for two opposite reasons: the mobile electrons at the Fermi level move at velocities of up to a few nm/fs, while the strongly bound electrons sit...
Research in the field of laser-driven inertial fusion (“laser fusion”) has gained significant momentum following the achievement of the Lawson criterion for fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility, triggering substantial public and private investment worldwide, including in Germany.
Despite this progress, a detailed understanding of the complex physical processes along the...
The structural transformations a metal undergoes under intense excitation depend on both the heating rate and the deposited fluence. Femtosecond optical excitation reaches heating rates far beyond those of conventional methods, and how the lattice responds spans a continuum from gentle vibrations to complete structural reordering as the fluence increases. Capturing this full range in a single...
X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs) provide intense femtosecond X-ray pulses. The peak brightness is often high enough to destroy a sample with a single X-ray pulse. With their short pulse lengths, XFELs are optimal sources for studying ultra-fast processes started by optical laser pumping or by sample mixing. Additionally, high-repetition rate XFELs such as European XFEL or LCLS II require...
What is a twisted light, i.e. an X-ray beam carrying orbital angular momentum? Can the “twist” of a light beam move atoms inside a crystal like it can optically tweeze nano-particles [1]? We explore this question in GeTe, a simple ferroelectric in which tiny displacements of Ge and Te atoms determine the direction of the electric polarization [2]. Instead of applying a conventional voltage,...
Future inertial fusion energy (IFE) reactors will require materials capable of surviving repeated exposure to intense X-ray radiation, energetic particles, and debris generated during target implosions. Understanding how these extreme conditions affect reactor materials is essential for the development of reliable fusion power plants.
This contribution presents laboratory and computational...
In my presentation, I will shortly summarize the main outputs of HE EIC project MHz tomoscopy [1] yielding not only the working prototype of apparatus at EuXFEL, but also already interesting examples of applications attracting new user community.
One of the bottlenecks on road to full use of MHz tomoscopy is proper reconstruction of rapid dynamics having only limited number of projections...
The Bacillus subtilis spore coat is an outermost proteinaceous layer that protects spores against a variety of threats, including toxic chemicals and lytic enzymes, as well as predation by unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes. The coat, organised into two major morphologically distinct layers, the outer and inner coats, is composed of at least 70 proteins. The coat assembly process...
A brief overview of ion emission results obtained in interaction experiments performed with short-wavelength laser pulses of a duration ranging from tens of femtoseconds to tens of nanoseconds will be presented. We compare the basic characteristics of ion emission generated by ultrashort pulses delivered by soft x-ray (FLASH2) and x-ray (European XFEL) free-electron lasers. For further...
Research infrastructures are key players in addressing global societal challenges and strengthening Europe’s scientific and technological capabilities. At the same time, the world in which they operate has changed significantly. Geopolitical developments, increasing competition for technologies and critical resources, environmental challenges and changing expectations towards the impact of...
