#xfel

[scienza-magia]

Pianeti mini-Nettuno ideali per la formazione di diamanti

Qui piovono diamanti! (Su Urano, Nettuno... ma non solo). Precipitazioni di diamanti non sarebbero solo su grandi pianeti come Urano, ma anche su altri più piccoli chiamati "mini-Nettuno". Ce ne sono a centinaia al di fuori del nostro sistema solare. Se un giorno l'uomo dovesse riuscire a costruire un'astronave in grado di penetrare l'atmosfera di Nettuno, allora si potrebbe provare l'esperienza di attraversare una pioggia composta da diamanti. E stando a una nuova ricerca condotta da un gruppo internazionale di scienziati e pubblicata su Nature astronomy, pianeti dove raccogliere diamanti sarebbero molto numerosi. Come su Nettuno, anche su Urano la formazione dei cristalli di diamanti è resa possibile da due fattori presenti nelle profondità delle loro atmosfere: le elevate pressioni e le alte temperature. Queste condizioni scompongono idrocarburi come il metano nei singoli atomi, consentendo a quelli del carbonio di unirsi tra loro a formare molecole di diamante allo stato solido, le quali a loro volta possono dare origine a strutture via via più grandi. Diamanti su tanti altri pianeti Sulla base delle ricerche realizzate nell'ultimo studio - in cui i processi di formazione dei diamanti sono stati simulati in ambienti di laboratorio – si è scoperto che le temperature e le pressioni per dare vita alla formazione dei diamanti risultano inferiori rispetto a quanto si pensava precedentemente. Ciò renderebbe possibile precipitazioni di diamanti non solo su grandi pianeti come Urano, ma anche sui pianeti gassosi simili più piccoli: si chiamano "mini-Nettuno" e ne sono stati scoperti a centinaia al di fuori del nostro sistema solare. Sottolinea Siegfried Glenzer dello SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory a capo della ricerca: «Questa scoperta non solo approfondisce la nostra conoscenza circa i nostri pianeti ghiacciati locali, ma ha anche implicazioni per la comprensione di processi simili negli esopianeti oltre il nostro Sistema Solare». Nettuno e Urano: nuovi risultati Quanto scoperto da Glenzer e dai suoi colleghi potrebbe anche spiegare alcune caratteristiche a oggi incomprensibili sui campi magnetici di Urano e Nettuno. Per capire questo bisogna aprire una parentesi. I ricercatori hanno utilizzato l'XFEL europeo (uno strumento lungo 3,4 chilometri che produce lampi di raggi X estremamente intensi) per monitorare i diamanti che sono stati prodotti partendo da una pellicola di polistirene composta da idrocarburi, la quale è stata ripetutamente sottoposta ad enormi pressioni in una struttura simile a una morsa.

Tale struttura ha permesso ai ricercatori di osservare il processo più a lungo di quanto fosse stato possibile negli esperimenti precedenti proprio grazie all'uso di XFEL. Si è così giunti a comprendere che la pressione intensa e le temperature molto calde, pur essendo assolutamente necessarie, potrebbero non essere così estreme. Diamanti e campi magnetici Collegando quanto scoperto ai nostri pianeti e a quelli di altri sistemi solari, si può dunque ipotizzare che i diamanti potrebbero formarsi a una profondità inferiore a quella stimata. Non solo: poiché le particelle di diamante cadono verso il centro del pianeta - trascinando con sé gas e ghiaccio-, potrebbero influenzare i campi magnetici in modo significativo. A differenza della Terra, infatti, pianeti come Nettuno e Urano non hanno campi magnetici simmetrici ma la presenza dei diamanti in caduta libera potrebbe aiutare a spiegare tale anomalia. Sottolinea Mungo Frost, dello SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory: «Quanto osservato permette di ipotizzare che il fenomeno dei diamanti potrebbe originare movimenti all'interno dei ghiacci presenti su questi pianeti, influenzando la generazione dei loro campi magnetici». In altre parole, si verrebbero a creare correnti elettriche che darebbero origine a dei campi elettrici ma, proprio perché caotici, non darebbero origine a campi magnetici simmetrici. Read the full article

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

European X-ray laser explores a poorly understood state of matter

The properties of warm dense matter have until recently been little known. Now, thanks to the use of X-ray lasers, physicists are gaining more and more information about this important but still mysterious state of matter. The first comprehensive observations of ionisation processes in warm dense matter, carried out at the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (European XFEL), have just been presented in one of the most prestigious physics journals.

State of matter with a temperature of a few thousand degrees and a high density, close to that of a solid, can be found, among others, in the interiors of brown dwarfs or gaseous planets. Although common in the Universe, it is very difficult to be produced and analysed in the laboratory. A new era in experimental research of this so-called warm dense matter (WDM) state began just a dozen years ago, when physicists launched the first free-electron X-ray lasers. At the forefront of this type of device is the nearly 3.5 km-long European XFEL laser. A series of experiments recently carried out there made it possible to observe for the first time how quickly a metal transforms into the exotic state of ionised WDM to become transparent (non-absorbing) to X-rays at the end of the process. The achievement of the international team of scientists – including those from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow – is discussed in a paper published in the journal Nature Physics.

X-Ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs) are used to generate high-intensity X-ray pulses lasting single femtoseconds, i.e. millionths of a billionth of a second. These can be used to study the structure of matter at atomic length scales and to track phenomena on extremely short time scales. One of only a dozen such devices in the world is the European XFEL in Hamburg, built in cooperation with the DESY research centre.

“In our experiment at the European XFEL, we illuminated copper samples with X-ray pulses lasting 15 femtoseconds, using different, gradually increasing intensities”, Prof. Beata Ziaja-Motyka (IFJ PAN, DESY) introduces the experiment. The first author of the paper in question, Dr. Laurent Mercadier from the European XFEL, adds some physical details: “When a single X-ray laser pulse reached the material, it caused strong ionisation. The electrons released in the process were characterised by high temperatures. Under these extreme conditions, the copper was transformed into a state of warm dense matter. We meticulously recorded how much radiation passed through the matter and from this inferred the ionisation changes in the observed system.”

Simulations carried out using the BOLTZMANN SOLVER software, developed since 2004 at DESY by Prof. Ziaja-Motyka, were particularly helpful in interpreting the measurement results. This tool was used to simulate changes in the electronic occupancy of individual energy levels in WDM depending on the intensity of the incident laser radiation.

By confronting experimental data with simulations, it was established that when the X-ray intensity becomes sufficiently high, atoms of WDM become strongly ionised. As a result of this phenomenon, new energy levels appear which can be occupied by excited electrons – making WDM opaque for photons resonant with transitions to these new energy levels. These states had already been observed previously with optical lasers, however, the lasers’ energy limitations did not allow them to be studied in more detail. Now, thanks to the European X-ray laser XFEL, it is possible to characterise them accurately also in response to various intensities of X-ray pulses. In accordance with theoretical predictions for X-ray absorption spectra, prepared by Dr. Joshua Kas (University of Washington, USA) and Dr. Andrei Benediktovitch (DESY, Hamburg), it was further observed that with increasing the laser intensity the warm dense matter becomes first opaque and then – at highest intensities – transparent to the laser pulse.

“The appearance of ‘transparency’ – i.e. lack of absorption – in WDM is a consequence of the high ionisation of WDM atoms occurring at sufficiently high X-ray pulse intensities. The energy of the X-ray photons available in the experiment then becomes too small to excite further electrons. As a result, these photons cannot be absorbed by the warm dense matter at all,” explains Prof. Ziaja-Motyka.

Knowledge of the properties of warm dense matter and the processes taking place within it is not only of astrophysical, but also of practical, engineering importance. Matter in this state plays an important role in certain types of controlled nuclear fusion (ICF – Inertial Confinement Fusion), and also appears during the ablation of metallic heat shields of spacecraft returning from orbit to Earth.

The team of physicists at the European X-ray XFEL laser, led by Prof. Nina Rohringer (DESY, Universität Hamburg), intends to continue research into the electron and ionisation processes occurring in WDM and their dynamics. On the Polish side, the work is co-financed by the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

IMAGE: Warm dense matter occurs inside Jupiter-type giant planets (where it surrounds the rocky core as a metallic liquid at a temperature of many thousands of kelvin) and in the interiors of small stars – brown dwarfs. Credit Source: IFJ PAN / NASA

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Researchers measure crystal nucleation in supercooled atomic liquids

Researchers at European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg have taken a closer look at the formation of the first crystallization of nuclei in supercooled liquids. They found that the formation starts much later than previously assumed. The findings could help to better understand the creation of ice in clouds in the future and to describe some processes inside the Earth more precisely. Every child knows that water freezes into ice when it gets icy cold. For water, this normally happens below 0°C, the melting temperature of water. This is a fixed point on the Celsius temperature scale that we use. However, the transition from the liquid to the solid phase is a very complex process and is difficult to study experimentally at the atomic level. One reason for this is that crystals are formed randomly: You don't know exactly when and where it will happen.

Read more.

[insightfulblogz]

Protein Crystallization Market Opportunities, Statistics, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecast by 2032

Protein crystallization is a critical technique in structural biology, allowing scientists to visualize the three-dimensional structures of proteins at atomic resolution. By crystallizing proteins, researchers can better understand their functions, interactions, and mechanisms, aiding in the design of novel therapeutics. This process is essential in drug discovery, as detailed protein structures provide insights into potential drug-binding sites and facilitate the development of targeted treatments. Protein crystallization has applications across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and academia, contributing to major advancements in biological research and drug development.

The Protein Crystallization Market size was estimated at USD 1.20 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 2.49 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 8.45% during the forecast period of 2024-2032.

Future Scope

The future of protein crystallization lies in the advancement of automation, high-throughput screening, and microfluidic technologies. Automation will streamline the crystallization process, reducing the time and labor required for experimentation. High-throughput screening will allow for simultaneous crystallization trials, expediting the identification of optimal conditions. Additionally, microfluidic systems are expected to miniaturize and enhance crystallization setups, making it possible to work with scarce protein samples. These advancements will help researchers overcome the challenges of crystallizing complex proteins, broadening the scope of proteins available for study and accelerating drug discovery.

Trends

Current trends in protein crystallization include the rise of automated crystallization platforms, the use of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), and the adoption of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) as a complementary tool. Automated systems increase reproducibility and efficiency, while XFELs enable researchers to capture high-resolution images of protein crystals without causing damage. Cryo-EM, often used in conjunction with crystallization, allows for the visualization of complex protein structures in near-native states. These trends are transforming protein crystallization and driving innovations in structural biology and pharmacology.

Applications

Protein crystallization has extensive applications in drug discovery, structural biology, and biotechnology. In drug discovery, crystallization is used to determine the structures of drug targets, aiding in the design of small molecules and biologics with high binding affinity. Structural biology relies on crystallization to elucidate protein functions and interactions, providing foundational knowledge for understanding diseases and developing new treatments. In biotechnology, protein crystallization supports the development of enzymes and biocatalysts for industrial applications, optimizing their performance for specific biochemical reactions.

Key Points

Protein crystallization enables visualization of protein structures, aiding drug discovery and structural biology.

Future advancements include automation, high-throughput screening, and microfluidic systems for enhanced efficiency.

Trends involve automated platforms, XFELs, and cryo-EM as complementary visualization tools.

Applications span drug discovery, structural biology, and biotechnology, supporting therapeutic and industrial research.

Critical for understanding disease mechanisms and developing targeted therapies.

Conclusion

Protein crystallization remains a cornerstone of structural biology and drug discovery, enabling scientists to unlock the molecular secrets of proteins. As new technologies advance the crystallization process, researchers will be able to tackle increasingly complex protein targets, paving the way for breakthroughs in disease treatment and therapeutic design. Protein crystallization will continue to drive scientific innovation, advancing our understanding of biology and supporting the development of next-generation drugs.

Read More Details: https://www.snsinsider.com/reports/protein-crystallization-market-3879 

Contact Us:

Akash Anand — Head of Business Development & Strategy

Email: info@snsinsider.com

Phone: +1–415–230–0044 (US) | +91–7798602273 (IND) 

[trendstorm]

Atomic GPS | Atomic Movies Reveal Hidden Phases

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQv9QByS3c0 Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a groundbreaking technique to create "atomic movies" that capture the transition of quantum materials from insulators to metals. This revolutionary discovery has revealed a new material phase and opens up new possibilities for material design, with significant implications for technology, computing, and energy storage. Dive into the world of ultrafast pair distribution function (PDF) analysis and explore how this advancement is pushing the boundaries of material science. Source: Brookhaven National Laboratory. #materialsscience #quantumphysics #physicscommunity Atomic movies revealing hidden phases Atomic GPS technology explained Quantum material phase transition Hidden phases in atomic movies New material phase discovery Atomic pair distribution function analysis Ultrasonic PDF technique Metal-insulator transition observed Atomic movement in quantum materials Discovering new material phases Atomic rearrangement movies X-ray free-electron laser applications Breakthroughs in material science How atoms transition in quantum materials Atomic GPS: A new scientific discovery Insulator to metal phase transition Exploring hidden material phases Atomic GPS: Understanding material transitions Quantum material research breakthrough Discovering transient states in materials New phase in quantum materials Atomic movies of material transitions Advances in material science with atomic movies Atomic GPS and material phase discovery Quantum material transitions explained Hidden material phases unveiled Atomic PDF analysis at XFEL facilities Observing atomic movement with X-ray lasers How atomic movies are made New phases in quantum materials Atomic GPS: A breakthrough in material science Hidden phases in quantum materials Atomic GPS technology in material science Discovering transient states in quantum materials Atomic movement in new material phases X-ray laser and atomic movement Hidden quantum material phases discovered Understanding atomic rearrangement in materials Atomic GPS: How it works Ultrasonic PDF and hidden material phases New material phases in atomic movies Observing material transitions with atomic movies Atomic GPS and quantum material phases Discovering hidden states in materials Atomic movies: A new look at materials Breakthroughs in quantum material science Understanding quantum material transitions New insights into material science Atomic GPS: Revolutionary discovery Observing atomic changes with X-ray lasers Discovering new quantum material phases Atomic movies and material transitions Advances in atomic PDF analysis X-ray lasers and atomic GPS Quantum material science breakthroughs Atomic rearrangement in quantum materials Observing hidden material phases Atomic GPS and phase transitions New findings in quantum material research Atomic movies: Unveiling hidden phases How X-ray lasers reveal material phases Discovering new states in quantum materials Atomic movies of quantum materials Understanding hidden material states Atomic GPS: New material phases discovered X-ray laser and quantum material discovery Breakthrough in material phase research Atomic PDF and quantum material phases New discoveries in quantum material phases Atomic GPS: Hidden phases in materials via Trend Storm https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF1F2JAMftAe2z2hl32FXmQ August 24, 2024 at 05:30PM

[spacenutspod]

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 17, 2024 Diamonds could form in the relatively shallow interiors of planets like Neptune and Uranus and travel downward, driving the ice giants' magnetic fields, according to new research from an international team of scientists including Carnegie's Alexander Goncharov and Eric Edmund. Published in Nature Astronomy, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory-led team's findings used the European XFEL

[stribiz]

European XFEL - VisitorCenterFilm from stribiz on Vimeo.

Client: European Xfel/ Schenefeld Director/ Story/ Edit: Christian Striboll DOP: Timo Schwarz 2nd DOP/ Sound: Nicolai Löckelt

[skycrorg]

Descubren algo interesante sobre la lluvia de diamantes en planetas helados

Un equipo internacional de investigadores dirigido por el Dr. Mungo Frost del centro de investigación SLAC en California ha obtenido nuevos conocimientos sobre la formación de lluvias de diamantes en planetas helados como Neptuno y Urano, utilizando el láser de rayos X europeo XFEL en Schenefeld. Los resultados también proporcionan pistas sobre la formación de los complejos campos magnéticos de…

[jcmarchi]

Milestone for novel atomic clock - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/milestone-for-novel-atomic-clock-technology-org/

Milestone for novel atomic clock - Technology Org

An international research team has taken a decisive step toward a new generation of atomic clocks. By using nuclear, rather than electronic, transitions in atomic scandium, researchers at the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser facility have made an advance that some believe will lead to a thousandfold increase in timekeeping precision. The results are published in the journal Nature.

An X-ray beam at European XFEL excites the ultra-narrow resonance of a Scandium-45 nucleus, causing it to emit nuclear fluorescence photons which enable an accurate measurement of the resonance energy. This facilitates the future use of Scandium-45 as nuclear clock with unprecedented accuracy. Image Credit: European XFEL / Tobias Wüstefeld, HI Jena / Ralf Röhlsberger

Atomic clocks have numerous applications that benefit from improved accuracy, such as precise positioning using satellite navigation. 

Atomic clocks are currently the world’s most accurate timekeepers. These clocks have used energy transitions of electrons in the atomic shell of chemical elements, such as cesium, to define time. These electrons can be raised to a higher energy level with microwaves of a known frequency. In the process, they absorb microwave radiation. 

An atomic clock shines microwaves at cesium atoms and regulates the frequency of the radiation such that the absorption of the microwaves is maximized; experts call this a resonance. The quartz oscillator that generates the microwaves can be kept so stable in this manner that cesium clocks are accurate to within one second over 300 million years.

Crucial to an atomic clock’s accuracy is the resonance width used. Current cesium atomic clocks already use a very narrow resonance, and even more accurate results are obtained using strontium lattices. In hopes of leapfrogging ahead, teams around the world have been working for several years on the concept of a “nuclear” clock, which uses transitions in the atomic nucleus rather than in the electron shells of the atom. Nuclear resonances are much sharper than the resonances of electrons, but also much harder to excite.

The team could now excite a promising transition in the nucleus of the element scandium, which is readily available as a high-purity metal foil or as the compound scandium dioxide.

“The breakthrough in resonant excitation of scandium and the precise measurement of its energy opens new avenues not only for nuclear clocks, but also for ultrahigh-precision spectroscopy and precision measurement of fundamental physical effects,” says Yuri Shvydko of Argonne National Laboratory. 

Texas A&M University’s Olga Kocharovskaya, initiator and leader of the project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, adds “Such a high accuracy could allow gravitational time dilation to be probed at sub-millimeter distances. This would allow studies of relativistic effects on length scales that were inaccessible so far.”

John Gillaspy, NSF program director for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Experimental Physics, said that “this advance is both exciting and timely (double pun intended).”

Source: NSF

You can offer your link to a page which is relevant to the topic of this post.

[abdullapulatov]

Ученые испытали самый мощный в мире рентгеновский лазер

#интересные_факты Ученые испытали самый мощный в мире рентгеновский лазер

Он откроет новую эру в исследованиях с использованием рентгеновских лучей, уверены разработчики. Модернизированный рентгеновский лазер на свободных электронах (XFEL), который использует источник когерентного излучения Linac (LCLS) в Национальной ускорительной лаборатории SLAC Министерства энергетики США, успешно сгенерировал ...............(Читать далее).................. https://qwert.uz/2023/10/22/%d1%83%d1%87%d0%b5%d0%bd%d1%8b%d0%b5-%d0%b8%d1%81%d0%bf%d1%8b%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%bb%d0%b8-%d1%81%d0%b0%d0%bc%d1%8b%d0%b9-%d0%bc%d0%be%d1%89%d0%bd%d1%8b%d0%b9-%d0%b2-%d0%bc%d0%b8%d1%80%d0%b5-%d1%80%d0%b5/

[materialsscienceandengineering]

An X-ray step towards superfast nanoelectronics

When a material with magnetic properties, constructed from appropriately selected layers, is illuminated by a pulse from an X-ray laser, it instantly demagnetizes. This phenomenon, so far poorly understood, could in the future be used in nanoelectronics, to build, for example, ultrafast magnetic switches. An important step toward this goal is a new simulation tool developed by a Polish-German-Italian team of scientists as part of a joint research project between the European XFEL and IFJ PAN.

No information-processing device can operate at a speed faster than that at which the physical phenomena underlying its operation occur. That is why physicists continue to seek phenomena that run on increasingly shorter spatial and temporal scales, yet can be controlled relatively easily. One promising research direction seems to be the demagnetization process of ferromagnetic multilayer materials initiated by ultrafast X-ray laser pulses.

A team of physicists from Poland, Germany and Italy, working at the European XFEL facility and at the DESY facility in Hamburg, can now boast a significant achievement in this field: Their study in npj Computational Materials presents the first tool that makes it possible to simulate the progress of X-ray-induced demagnetization. Scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow are an important part of the team.

Read more.

[alexanderrogge]

Ali Sundermier - SLAC fires up the world's most powerful X-ray laser: LCLS-II ushers in a new era of science:

Linac #LCLS #SLAC #USDoE #XRayLaser #XRay #LASER #Accelerator #Cryoplant #Physics

[valiantranchcreatorsuitcase]

European XFEL: World’s most powerful X-ray source

The European X-ray Free-Electron Laser in Germany, inaugurated today, showcases the impact of particle accelerators outside physics

Driving the European XFEL is the longest superconducting linear accelerator ever built, a 1.4-km-long machine that uses superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities to accelerate electrons highly efficiently to an energy of 17.5 GeV. Despite the clear benefits of SRF cavities, before the mid-1990s the technology was not mature enough and too expensive to be practical for a large facility. Based on initial experience with individual cavities – including those of LEP – the TESLA collaboration, hosted at DESY, developed highly performing cavities and reduced the cost for a linear collider proposal and for the construction of the European XFEL. Today the European XFEL also serves as a prototype for a potential linear collider, the ILC.

Exiting the European XFEL linac, electrons are rapidly deflected in an undulating left–right pattern by traversing a long periodic array of magnets called an undulator, causing the electrons to emit intense and coherent beams of X-ray photons. X-rays emerging from the undulator finally arrive at the European XFEL headquarters in Schenefeld where user experiments will take place.

The European XFEL is the culmination of a worldwide effort, with European XFEL GmbH being responsible for the construction and operation of the facility, especially the X-ray photon transport and experimental stations, and its largest shareholder DESY leading the construction and operation of the electron linac. The facility joins other major XFELs in the US (LCLS) and Japan (SACLA), and is expected to keep Europe at the forefront of X-ray science for at least the next 20 to 30 years.

Photos ©️Stefan Meyer

[a-z0-9-i-n-gram-completionist]

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My post is getting reblogged by gimmic accounts this fucking sucks

[zineroom]

UNOFFICIAL MICK FOLEY FANZINE

Xfel 

https://xrayfreeelectronlaser.bigcartel.com/

[demystifyingscience]

The 60-hour crunch: working with xray free electron lasers

Imagine your job (or dream job). Imagine that job only being able to be conducted in five places worldwide at the time of this post. Five countries, five sites. Now imagine you can only go for a few days out of the year to complete months or years worth of work.

You would imagine that there would be a sense of urgency in the way you conduct the job. You’d have to be as efficient as possible, because those precious 48 to 60 hours are the only chances you’ll get for at least a year, possibly more, to do this work. On top of that, because of the nature of this job, there’s probably a lot of competition to get to choose who comes to the site in a given year. You pour hours into creating the perfect proposal, a demonstration of why you should be granted the opportunity.

This is the nature of working with X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs). As of 2022, there are five operating in the world, each involved in cutting edge chemical, physical, and biological research. They are truly sites in the world where boundaries are being pushed, and processes being made more efficient. It opens the doors to collaborations where previously there wouldn’t have been any, and so this field of science flourishes and has a strong backbone in the form of the XFEL.

In my four years, I’ve been involved in four experiments at the XFELs. This is quite numerous — during 2020 we had two runs, completely virtual. This was its own challenge, of course, and I had also just joined my laboratory group, so needless to say most of the time I had no idea what was going on. That’s okay, though. It certainly planted a seed of anticipation for my first trip in person to such an instrument. In August of 2021 I went to Menlo Park, California, where the national lab SLAC is located (the acronym actually has a weird story — let me know if you want to hear it. The S is of dubious status right now, but the LAC stands for ‘Linear Accelerator’).

I’d never been so far from the Midwest before, and this marked the first year I ever rode a plane — at age 25, no less!

At SLAC there’s the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), and this is where the X-ray laser is generated and used for experiments. You may ask me: ‘Why not just make an X-ray laser in an academic lab?’ Some people kind of have, but not nearly to this extent. When I write a post on it, I’ll be sure to link it here. X-ray generation for the doctor’s office is very different than the X-ray generation of these XFELs. For lower energy X-rays, a small x-ray tube is fine. But for the high-energy, high-intensity physical and chemical applications, a lot longer of a 'tube' is needed. This involves the acceleration of electrons through either a ring (like the particle accelerators at CERN in Switzerland) or through a long linear path. (The ring ones are called ‘synchrotrons’, and there are far more of these than there are x-ray lasers. Cooler word, though.)

Here is an article that talks about the basics of X-ray radiation generation from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. Please ask if any questions arise!

Because SLAC incorporates a linear path (hence the ‘linear accelerator part of it’s name), it means that the electrons are pushed through a 2km-long tunnel, all the while creating high-energy radiation. The electrons are pushed with magnets, since electrons have a negative charge. They are pushed so fast that they begin to emit radiation in the X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are also pulsed, and these pulses of light are very intense, able to destroy the molecules that come in contact with it. It is very dangerous to be in the room with this laser on [1].

Electromagnetic radiation spans from long-wavelength radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays on the short-wavelength/higher-energy range. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the energy associated with the radiation. UV radiation, for example, tans and burns our skin because of the high energy associated with it. But it does good too -- it creates the vitamin D in our skin that is essential for health [2].

X-rays have more energy in them than the wavelengths of light that are visible. They have unique properties, such as being able to pass through soft matter like your skin and muscles when getting an X-ray done at the doctor's office.

The scope of this operation is huge, and this size is required. It is no mystery now that you can’t just build this in your backyard, nor in an academic lab. Universities can have x-ray sources… but nothing like this. This laser is capable of creating ultra-intense, ultra-bright pulses of X-rays, which lends itself well to applications such as finding structures of proteins or dynamics of molecular motion.

In particular, my group is interested in ‘molecular movies’, and x-ray lasers can help provide some of the answers of how molecules move physically in response to light. We went to the LCLS to study vitamin B-12’s response to light, and overall it was very productive.

Yes, you can only go for a few hours out of the year, and getting in is highly competitive because of the demand for the cutting-edge technology. But if you plan those 60 hours well, you can have data to last an entire dissertation. I am currently working on analyzing data that was taken in 2017. So there is a lot of information that can be gathered, and the perk is that you get to travel!

Soon I will travel to Hamburg, Germany to do an experiment at the European XFEL. It’ll be my fifth XFEL experiment overall that I have been involved in, including collaborations. I'll keep this blog updated with the goings-on of the work and fun I'll have while there! And if you have any questions, please send an ask or message!

References

Overview of X-ray Lasers from LCLS

Sofferman, D. Journal of Chemical Physics, (2021), 154(9).

Images: Locations of XFELs: Chemical and Engineering News, ACS SLAC sign picture: taken by me during my visit in 2021 Overhead view of LCLS: LCLS website View of x-ray tunnel: LCLS website Electromagnetic spectrum: Encyclopaedia Britannica