Physics and Astronomy Colloquium

 Thursday, November 10, 2011

4:00 - 5:00 p.m., Room 1-434 Physics & Astronomy Building





Guest Speaker: Margaret Murnane<http://jila.colorado.edu/content/margaret-murnane-0> (JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder and NIST)





Title: “Science at the Timescale of the Electron: Coherent X-rays Beams from Tabletop Lasers and Applications in Materials and Molecular Science ”





Abstract: Bright coherent high harmonic beams can now be generated from tabletop lasers, at photon energies that span from the ultraviolet to >1.6 keV (<7.8 Å). This corresponds to efficiently combining together > 5000 laser photons. In the future, it may even be possible to realize a coherent ultrafast version of the Roentgen X-ray tube in a tabletop-scale apparatus. Applications of high harmonic beams in materials and molecular science will also be discussed, including uncovering how magnetic materials behave on timescales less than the characteristic exchange interaction time, nanoscale imaging, capturing the coupled motions of electrons and atoms in molecules, and following energy flow in nanostructures.





Refreshments at 3:30 p.m. outside room 2-707 PAB