First-ever X-ray attosecond experiment on liquids provides new insights into water’s molecular properties

Theorists explain how X-ray measurement freezes hydrogen motion, with implications on other areas of chemistry

19-Feb-2024 - An international team has performed an attosecond-scale experiment at an X-ray free-electron laser on liquid water for the first time, and the results may change our interpretation of water’s behaviour. The experiment team, led by scientist Linda Young from Argonne National Laboratory in the US, ...

Molecule snapshot by explosion

Important step for filming chemical reactions

23-Feb-2022 - Exploding a photo subject in order to take its picture? An international research team at the world's largest X-ray laser, the European XFEL, used this “extreme” method to take pictures of complex molecules. With the ultra-bright X-ray flashes generated by the facility, the scientists were able ...

Liquid water at 170 degrees Celsius

X-ray laser reveals anomalous dynamics at ultra-fast heating

18-Sep-2020 - Using the X-ray laser European XFEL, a research team has investigated how water heats up under extreme conditions. In the process, the scientists were able to observe water that remained liquid even at temperatures of more than 170 degrees Celsius. The investigation revealed an anomalous dynamic ...

Ultrafast birth of free radicals observed in water

X-ray laser provides unrivalled insight into the first chemical reaction during radiolysis

13-Jan-2020 - Using extremely short X-ray flashes, an international team of researchers has for the first time ever observed details of the ultrafast chemical reaction leading to the formation of aggressive radicals when water is irradiated. The study provides unprecedented insights into the process, which can ...

How molecular footballs burst in an X-ray laser beam

Study shows effect of X-ray flashes on sensitive biomolecules

26-Sep-2019 - An international research team has observed in real time how football molecules made of carbon atoms burst in the beam of an X-ray laser. The study shows the temporal course of the bursting process, which takes less than a trillionth of a second, and is important for the analysis of sensitive ...

First high-speed hard X-ray microscopic movies at a free-electron laser

New technique enables investigation of industrially relevant materials and processes in motion

30-Aug-2019 - A group of researchers has for the first time performed high-speed microscopy using an X-ray laser at the European XFEL. The team produced a super slow-motion movie of a bursting glass capillary with micrometre spatial resolution. The method allows for observations of processes that take place at ...

Grazing light for rapid events

“X-ray streaking” allows ultrafast processes to be followed using a single pulse of light

02-Jan-2018 - An international team of scientists has developed a new experimental method at the FLASH X-ray laser which allows the sequence of events involved in a process to be observed using a single, ultrashort pulse of light from FLASH. Their method is called “X-ray streaking” and enables researchers to ...

Prestigious grant for imaging single molecules

Human Frontier Science Program supports intercontinental collaboration

27-Apr-2017 - An international team of researchers, including DESY scientist Henry Chapman, has been awarded a research grant by the Human Frontier Science Program to develop a novel method for imaging individual biomolecules with atomic resolution. The team will receive a total of 1.35 million US-Dollars over ...

Particle accelerator for the European XFEL X-ray laser operational

20-Apr-2017 - The international X-ray laser European XFEL has reached one of its final major milestones on the way to scientific user operation. DESY has successfully commissioned the particle accelerator, which drives the X-ray laser along its full length.It is the world’s largest superconducting linear ...

Crossing light with matter

Precision spectroscopy of X-ray polaritons

09-May-2016 - When light interacts with matter, it may be deflected or absorbed, resulting in the excitation of atoms and molecules; but the interaction can also produce composite states of light and matter which are neither one thing nor the other, and therefore have a name of their own – polaritons. These ...