Characterization of X-ray flashes open new perspectives of the nano cosm
Ultra-short and extremely strong X-ray flashes, as produced by free-electron lasers, are opening the door to a hitherto unknown world. Scientists als from DESY are using these flashes to take “snapshots” of the geometry of tiniest structures, for example the arrangement of atoms in molecules. To improve not only spatial but also temporal resolution further requires knowledge about the precise duration and intensity of the X-ray ...
FLASH2 generates first laser light
The FLASH II project – the extension of the free-electron laser FLASH – has reached an important milestone: On 20 August 2014, at 20:37 h, the accelerator team of the late shift was able to detect the first laser light at the new undulator line named FLASH2. Simultaneously, FLASH´s first undulator line FLASH1, which is provided with electron bunches from the same accelerator, could continue to operate without ...
FLASH study calls for a better theory of electrons in solids
Despite years of extensive research, many unconventional electrical, thermal and magnetic properties of modern materials remain a mystery. A recent study, conducted at DESY’s free-electron laser FLASH, has now concluded that a flaw in current theories of solids hinders further understanding of complex material behavior. “High-temperature superconductors are a very good example,” says Michael Rübhausen, one of the ...
Leading scientists appointed for PETRA III and FLASH
Christian Schroer and Wilfried Wurth have joined the DESY team as new leading scientists. Christian Schroer assumes the leadership of the scientific programme of DESY’s synchrotron radiation source PETRA III, Wilfried Wurth becomes scientific head of the free-electron laser FLASH. Both scientists have been working as users at DESY’s light sources for a long time, and made important contributions in the field of instrumentation. ...
X-rays probe structure of liquid water at minus 46 degrees
Using the world's strongest X-ray laser LCLS, an international team of scientists, including researchers from the CFEL at DESY, has probed the internal structure of super-cooled liquid water at minus 46 degrees Celsius for the first time. With falling temperature, the inner structure of super-cooled liquid water increases, reports the team in the scientific journal Nature. The study, led by Prof. Anders Nilsson from the SLAC National ...
Biology with free-electron X-ray lasers
The invention of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL) has unveiled new vistas into the world of molecules and atoms. This is of particular interest to biologists, striving to understand the workings of the molecular machinery within the organism. A special issue of the scientific journal Philosophical Transactions B, dedicated to "biology with free-electron X-ray lasers", now collects a remarkable set of articles that showcase, on a ...
Delayed explosion due to cluster shell
At DESY’s X-ray laser FLASH, a team of scientists from SLAC, TU Berlin and DESY has now studied a method to delay the explosion of the sample for potentially decisive fractions of a second. Violent forces are at work during research with free-electron lasers: every single light flash brings the analysed sample to a fast explosion. In the investigation, every femtosecond (a millionth of a billionth of a second) counts when decoding ...
Study of liquid hydrogen at FLASH provides important data for planetary models
Using DESY’s free-electron laser FLASH, researchers took a sneak peek deep into the lower atmospheric layers of giant gas planets such as Jupiter or Saturn. The observations of the team around lead author Dr. Ulf Zastrau from the University of Jena reveal how liquid hydrogen becomes a plasma, and provide information on the material’s thermal conductivity and its internal energy exchange, which are important ingredients for planetary ...
