AI Insight
Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's Linac Coherent Light Source have achieved a new record by measuring the shortest high-energy X-ray pulses ever produced at an X-ray free-electron laser facility. The pulses measured between 100 and 400 attoseconds in duration (attoseconds are billionths of a billionth of a second) and carried photon energies of approximately 9 kiloelectronvolts. This breakthrough represents a significant advancement in ultrafast X-ray pulse generation technology.
Why it matters
These ultrashort, high-energy X-ray pulses enable scientists to observe and record extremely fast processes at the atomic and molecular level, such as chemical reactions and electron movements. This capability could advance fields including materials science, chemistry, and biology by allowing researchers to capture snapshots of phenomena that occur on timescales previously impossible to measure.
Understand the Science
Researchers at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have measured the shortest high-energy X-ray pulses ever recorded at an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). The pulses had photon energies of about 9 kiloelectronvolts (keV) and clocked in at durations of 100 to 400 attoseconds—mere billionths of a billionth of a second. The results are published in Nature Photonics.
Source: X-ray free-electron laser sets new record for shortest high-energy pulses