Overview and science applications of European XFEL - Thomas Tschentsche

Thomas Tschentscher, European XFEL, Germany

Vendredi 16 juin 2017 à 14 h

IMPMC - UPMC, 4, Place Jussieu 75005 Paris. Tour 23 - Barre 22-23 - 4^e étage, salle 401

Abstract

X-ray experiments provide access to structural information about lattice and nuclei and, through spectroscopic techniques, to electronic properties in an element-selective fashion. Using high brightness radiation, provided by state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation facilities, today a large range of scientific domains employ x-ray investigations to further our understanding of fundamental questions and applications of societal dimension. Hard x-ray free-electron lasers (FEL) mark the latest development step of x-ray sources in providing ultrashort, coherent and extremely intense xray pulses. In addition to the already known powers of x-rays, the new features of x-ray FEL radiation open the access to ultrafast, sub-pico-second time scales, irreversible reactions and processes, and non-linear x-ray spectroscopy. Likewise science phenomena can be studied previously not accessible to x-ray research. Examples of such research are the dynamics and transient states of photo-excited molecules, structural dynamics of short-lived matter in extreme condition states, electronic excitation states, or structural studies of complex bio-molecules.

European XFEL is an international user facility for research using x-ray FEL radiation. Starting user operation in 2017 it will greatly enhance the opportunities for x-ray FEL research by providin researchers with FEL radiation in the x-ray range from 0.25 to 25 keV at (initially) six science instruments, each dedicated to a specific area of application [1,2]. The facility layout offers a high flexibility in selecting x-ray beam parameters and the superconducting accelerator technology allows accelerating 27.000 electron bunches per second, thereby providing high average brilliance, dedicated pulse delivery to several instruments quasi-simultaneously, but also increased spatial and temporal stability through the application of feedback schemes. One of the science instruments is dedicated to the investigation of matter under extreme conditions, generated by pulsed laser and magnetic fields and is expected to contribute uniquely to the research of earth and planetary matter [3,4].

 
[1] M. Altarelli et al., The European XFEL Technical Design Report doi:10.3204/DESY_06-097 (2007).
[2] Th. Tschentscher et al., Photon beam transport and scientific instruments at the European XFEL, Appl. Science, in print (2017)
[3] K. Appel et al., Plasma Phys. Cntr. Fusion 57, 014003 (2015)
[4] M. Nakatsutsumi et al., Plasma Phys. Cntr. Fusion 59, 014028 (2017).