Harnessing attosecond science in the quest for coherent X-rays

Modern laser technology has revolutionized the sensitivity and precision of spectroscopy by providing coherent light in a spectrum spanning the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet wavelength regimes. However, the generation of shorter-wavelength coherent pulses in the x-ray region has proven much more challenging. The recent emergence of high harmonic generation techniques opens the door to this possibility. Here we review the new science that is enabled by an ability to manipulate and control electrons on attosecond time scales, ranging from new tabletop sources of coherent x-rays to an ability to follow complex electron dynamics in molecules and materials. We also explore the implications of these advances for the future of molecular structural characterization schemes that currently rely so heavily on scattering from incoherent x-ray sources.     

Coherent soft x-ray generation in the water window with quasi-phase matching

We demonstrate enhanced generation of coherent light in the "water window" region of the soft x-ray spectrum at 4.4 nanometers, using quasi-phase-matched frequency conversion of ultrafast laser pulses. By periodically modulating the diameter of a gas-filled hollow waveguide, the phase mismatch normally present between the laser light and the generated soft x-ray light can be partially compensated. This makes it possible to use neon gas as the nonlinear medium to coherently convert light up to the water window, illustrating that techniques of nonlinear optics can be applied effectively in the soft x-ray region of the spectrum. These results advance the prospects for compact coherent soft x-ray sources for applications in biomicroscopy and in chemical spectroscopy.     

Tunable Coherent X-rays

A modern 1- to 2-billion-electron-volt synchrotron radiation facility (based on high-brightness electron beams and magnetic undulators) would generate coherent (laser-like) soft x-rays of wavelengths as short as 10 angstroms. The radiation would also be broadly tunable and subject to full polarization control. Radiation with these properties could be used for phase- and element-sensitive microprobing of biological assemblies and material interfaces as well as reserch on the production of electronic microstructures with features smaller than 1000 angstroms. These short wavelength capabilities, which extend to the K-absorption edges of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, are neither available nor projected for laboratory XUV lasers. Higher energy storage rings (5 to 6 billion electron volts) would generate significantly less coherent radiation and would be further compromised by additional x-ray thermal loading of optical components.     

X-rays from Coalescing Atoms

The discovery and investigation of X-ray continua has provided a new tool for studying the detailed electronic processes that occur when atoms collide. In the collisions considered here, the quasimolecular origin of the continuum radiation has been established. Therefore, as the atomic numbers of the projectiles and target atoms are increased one can simulate some of the properties of superheavy atoms. In particular, the peaked nature of the x-ray energy dependence of the anisotropy of K, L, and M MO radiation, as well as the peaked nature of the M MO spectra, will allow approximate spectroscopic studies of superheavy atoms. Special excitement attaches to the possibility of observing fundamental processes occurring under extremely high electric and magnetic fields. The recent successful development of a 1400-Mev U beam at the GSI (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung) accelerator in Darmstadt, Germany, promises an imminent attack on these basic problems (63).     

用于聚焦X射线的高分辨菲涅尔波带板的设计

提出了一种在制备工艺所限定的最小线宽不变的条件下扩展菲涅尔波带板尺寸的方法。该方法在普通波带板设计方法的基础上，在波带宽度小于最小加工尺度的区域采用合并奇数带的方法扩展波带宽度，从而获得较大尺度的扩展菲涅尔波带板(EFZP)。给出了有关设计公式和设计实例，并对这种新型波带板的聚焦性能进行了定量的计算机模拟。分析结果表明，这种扩展型菲涅尔波带板具有更高的分辨本领和能量利用率。对聚焦光斑的次极大也有较好的抑制能力。     

Toward a coherent theory of chemisorption

Studies of chemisorption phenomena, the cornerstone of heterogeneous catalysis, have become the central part of contemporary surface science. As a result of the great variety of the available experimental techniques, a backlog of information, some of which conflicts with current theoretical constructs, has accumulated. New models that combine analytical and computational facets have now begun to appear, revealing intrinsic relations among seemingly disparate chemisorption phenomena. Among the major findings are (i) the crucial role of antibonding adsorbate orbitals in bond activation and in the heat of chemisorption, (ii) adsorbate-induced surface polarization leading to a decrease of the metal work function and to an increase of the surface core binding energy, and (iii) important differences between atomic and molecular adsorbate modes of bonding and surface migration.     

Galactic X-rays: Variable Sources in Hydromagnetic Waves

Galactic sources of x-rays fluctuating in intensity are explained as being small regions, of enhanced gas density and temperature, emitting thermal Coulomb bremsstrahlung of kiloelectron-volt energies. Hydromagnetic wave motions, of the magnetic fields in the galactic spiral arms, produce the enhanced regions by compressing the clouds of ionized gas to which they are tied by their high electrical conductivity. From the observed periods of fluctuation of a few months, together with the hydromagnetic velocity, it is estimated that the average size of sources does not exceed 10(16) centimeters. By using the formula for Coulomb bremsstrahlung and requiring that the sources shall produce the observed x-ray fluxes, one finds a second estimate of size of sources in agreement at about 1016 centimeters. Such regions are too small to be observable radio sources with current radio telescopes.     

Soft X-rays from the Cygnus Loop: Interpretation

Two possible interpretations of the recent soft x-ray observation of the Cygnus Loop are discussed. A synchrotron model requires a magnetic field less than 10(-6) gauss and electron energies in excess of 10(14) electron volts. These electrons must either have been reaccelerated or continuously injected into the source for about 50,000 years. The observations are also consistent with the radiation from a hot plasma having the cosmic abundances of the elements. A likely origin for the hot plasma is a blast wave produced by the explosion of a supernova in the interstellar medium. Fitting such a model to the observations implies a kinetic energy release in the explosion of 6x 10(50) ergs for an assumed distance of 770 parsec.     

An on-demand coherent single-electron source

We report on the electron analog of the single-photon gun. On-demand single-electron injection in a quantum conductor was obtained using a quantum dot connected to the conductor via a tunnel barrier. Electron emission was triggered by the application of a potential step that compensated for the dot-charging energy. Depending on the barrier transparency, the quantum emission time ranged from 0.1 to 10 nanoseconds. The single-electron source should prove useful for the use of quantum bits in ballistic conductors. Additionally, periodic sequences of single-electron emission and absorption generate a quantized alternating current.     

X-rays affect the incorporation of 5-iododeoxyuridine into deoxyribonucleic acid

When labeled with iodine-131, 5-iododeoxyuridine, an analogue of thymidine, is useful in estimating the effect of x-radiation on deoxyribonucleic acid metabolism. Although this compound is readily incorporated into deoxyribonucleic acid in the absence of ionizing radiation, we find that whole-body exposure to as little as 10 r will significantly inhibit its incorporation.     

X-rays from Sources 3C 273 and M 87

An x-ray survey of the Virgo region revealed signals from the directions of 3C 273 and M 87. Three other x-ray sources appear in the region scanned, but do not fit any known radio sources. The x-ray flux (1 to 10 angstroms) from the direction of 3C 273 is about 1000 times weaker than from the strongest x-ray source, Sco XR-1. If the source is located at the cosmological distance of 500 megaparsecs, the x-ray luminosity is 7.3 x 10(45) ergs per second. The x-ray luminosity of M87 is 1.5 x 10(43) ergs per second.