Tobi: JC: Ultrafast electron dynamics in phenylalanine initiated by attosecond pulses

In the past decade, attosecond technology has opened up the investigation of ultrafast electronic processes in atoms, simple molecules, and solids. Here, we report the application of isolated attosecond pulses to prompt ionization of the amino acid phenylalanine and the subsequent detection of ultrafast dynamics on a sub–4.5-femtosecond temporal scale, which is shorter than the vibrational response of the molecule. The ability to initiate and observe such electronic dynamics in polyatomic molecules represents a crucial step forward in attosecond science, which is progressively moving toward the investigation of more and more complex systems.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6207/336.abstract

Alvaro: X-ray pulse characterization at LCLS using XTCAV

X-ray free electron lasers rely on an accelerated electron bunch passing through an undulator to create and amplify x-ray pulses. This generation/amplification process leaves a signature on the electron bunch than is dependent on the temporal profile of the generated x-rays. By streaking the electron bunch after the generation and looking at the electron spectrum as a function of time it is possible to characterize the generated x-ray pulses on a shot to shot basis.

I am not going to present the paper itself, but if you want to include the link it could be useful to the curious attendee:
http://journals.aps.org/prstab/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.14.120701

Will: JC: Attosecond Photoscopy of Plasmonic Excitations

We propose an experimental arrangement to image, with attosecond resolution, transient surface plasmonic excitations. The required modifications to state-of-the-art setups used for attosecond streaking experiments from solid surfaces only involve available technology. Buildup and lifetimes of surface plasmon polaritons can be extracted and local modulations of the exciting optical pulse can be diagnosed in situ.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.113903

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• Published 12 September 2014
• Received 20 January 2014

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