| 1. |
- Allaria, E., et al.
(författare)
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Highly coherent and stable pulses from the FERMI seeded free-electron laser in the extreme ultraviolet
- 2012
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Ingår i: Nature Photonics. - 1749-4885. ; 6:10, s. 699-704
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Free-electron lasers (FELs) are promising devices for generating light with laser-like properties in the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray spectral regions. Recently, FELs based on the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) mechanism have allowed major breakthroughs in diffraction and spectroscopy applications, despite the relatively large shot-to-shot intensity and photon-energy fluctuations and the limited longitudinal coherence inherent in the SASE mechanism. Here, we report results on the initial performance of the FERMI seeded FEL, based on the high-gain harmonic generation configuration, in which an external laser is used to initiate the emission process. Emission from the FERMI FEL-1 source occurs in the form of pulses carrying energy of several tens of microjoules per pulse and tunable throughout the 65 to 20 nm wavelength range, with unprecedented shot-to-shot wavelength stability, low-intensity fluctuations, close to transform-limited bandwidth, transverse and longitudinal coherence and full control of polarization.
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| 2. |
- Makos, I., et al.
(författare)
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Attosecond photoelectron spectroscopy using high-harmonic generation and seeded free-electron lasers
- 2023
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Ingår i: 2023 Photonics North, PN 2023. - 9798350326734
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, we use attosecond time-resolved techniques to investigate photoionization dynamics on its natural timescale, employing both high harmonic generation and seeded free-electron lasers to generate extreme ultraviolet attosecond pulse trains for our studies. With the former approach, we examine the role of nuclear motion in molecular photoionization dynamics, while with the latter we introduce a novel attosecond timing tool for single-shot characterization of the relative phase between the XUV and the infrared field.
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| 3. |
- Maroju, Praveen Kumar, et al.
(författare)
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Attosecond coherent control of electronic wave packets in two-colour photoionization using a novel timing tool for seeded free-electron laser
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Photonics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1749-4885 .- 1749-4893. ; 17, s. 200-207
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In ultrafast spectroscopy, the temporal resolution of time-resolved experiments depends on the duration of the pump and probe pulses, and on the control and characterization of their relative synchronization. Free-electron lasers operating in the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray spectral regions deliver pulses with femtosecond and attosecond duration in a broad array of pump-probe configurations to study a wide range of physical processes. However, this flexibility, together with the large dimensions and high complexity of the experimental set-ups, limits control of the temporal delay to the femtosecond domain, thus precluding a time resolution below the optical cycle. Here we demonstrate a novel single-shot technique able to determine the relative synchronization between an attosecond pulse train-generated by a seeded free-electron laser-and the optical oscillations of a near-infrared field, with a resolution of one atomic unit (24 as). Using this attosecond timing tool, we report the first example of attosecond coherent control of photoionization in a two-colour field by manipulating the phase of high-order near-infrared transitions.
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| 4. |
- Finetti, P., et al.
(författare)
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Pulse duration of seeded free electron lasers
- 2017
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Ingår i: Physical Review X. - 2160-3308. ; 7:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pulse duration, and, more generally, the temporal intensity profile of free-electron laser (FEL) pulses, is of utmost importance for exploring the new perspectives offered by FELs; it is a nontrivial experimental parameter that needs to be characterized. We measured the pulse shape of an extreme ultraviolet externally seeded FEL operating in high-gain harmonic generation mode. Two different methods based on the cross-correlation of the FEL pulses with an external optical laser were used. The two methods, one capable of single-shot performance, may both be implemented as online diagnostics in FEL facilities. The measurements were carried out at the seeded FEL facility FERMI. The FEL temporal pulse characteristics were measured and studied in a range of FEL wavelengths and machine settings, and they were compared to the predictions of a theoretical model. The measurements allowed a direct observation of the pulse lengthening and splitting at saturation, in agreement with the proposed theory.
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| 5. |
- Michiels, R., et al.
(författare)
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Enhancement of above Threshold Ionization in Resonantly Excited Helium Nanodroplets
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Clusters and nanodroplets hold the promise of enhancing high-order nonlinear optical effects due to their high local density. However, only moderate enhancement has been demonstrated to date. Here, we report the observation of energetic electrons generated by above-threshold ionization (ATI) of helium (He) nanodroplets which are resonantly excited by ultrashort extreme ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser pulses and subsequently ionized by near-infrared (NIR) or near-ultraviolet (UV) pulses. The electron emission due to high-order ATI is enhanced by several orders of magnitude compared with He atoms. The crucial dependence of the ATI intensities with the number of excitations in the droplets suggests a local collective enhancement effect.
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| 6. |
- Perosa, G., et al.
(författare)
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Femtosecond Polarization Shaping of Free-Electron Laser Pulses
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007. ; 131:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We demonstrate the generation of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser (FEL) pulses with timedependent polarization. To achieve polarization modulation on a femtosecond timescale, we combine two mutually delayed counterrotating circularly polarized subpulses from two cross-polarized undulators. The polarization profile of the pulses is probed by angle-resolved photoemission and above-threshold ionization of helium; the results agree with solutions of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. The stability limit of the scheme is mainly set by electron-beam energy fluctuations, however, at a level that will not compromise experiments in the XUV. Our results demonstrate the potential to improve the resolution and element selectivity of methods based on polarization shaping and may lead to the development of new coherent control schemes for probing and manipulating core electrons in matter.
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| 7. |
- Mirian, N. S., et al.
(författare)
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Generation and measurement of intense few-femtosecond superradiant extreme-ultraviolet free-electron laser pulses
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Photonics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1749-4885 .- 1749-4893. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Free-electron lasers producing ultrashort pulses with high peak power promise to extend ultrafast non-linear spectroscopic techniques into the extreme-ultraviolet-X-ray regime. Key aspects are the synchronization between pump and probe, and the control of the pulse properties (duration, intensity and coherence). Externally seeded free-electron lasers produce coherent pulses that can be synchronized with femtosecond accuracy. An important goal is to shorten the pulse duration, but the simple approach of shortening the seed is not sufficient because of the finite-gain bandwidth of the conversion process. An alternative is the amplification of a soliton in a multistage, superradiant cascade: here, we demonstrate the generation of few-femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulses, whose duration we measure by autocorrelation. We achieve pulses four times shorter, and with a higher peak power, than in the standard high-gain harmonic generation mode and we prove that the pulse duration matches the Fourier transform limit of the spectral intensity distribution. By amplifying a soliton in a multistage cascade, few-femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet free-electron laser pulses are achieved.
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| 8. |
- Nandi, Saikat, et al.
(författare)
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Observation of Rabi dynamics with a short-wavelength free-electron laser
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 608:7923, s. 488-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rabi oscillations are periodic modulations of populations in two-level systems interacting with a time-varying field(1). They are ubiquitous in physics with applications in different areas such as photonics(2), nano-electronics(3), electron microscopy(4) and quantum information(5). While the theory developed by Rabi was intended for fermions in gyrating magnetic fields, Autler and Townes realized that it could also be used to describe coherent light-matter interactions within the rotating-wave approximation(6). Although intense nanometre-wavelength light sources have been available for more than a decade(7-9), Rabi dynamics at such short wavelengths has not been directly observed. Here we show that femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulses from a seeded free-electron laser(10) can drive Rabi dynamics between the ground state and an excited state in helium atoms. The measured photoelectron signal reveals an Autler-Townes doublet and an avoided crossing, phenomena that are both fundamental to coherent atom-field interactions(11). Using an analytical model derived from perturbation theory on top of the Rabi model, we find that the ultrafast build-up of the doublet structure carries the signature of a quantum interference effect between resonant and non-resonant photoionization pathways. Given the recent availability of intense attosecond(12) and few-femtosecond(13) extreme-ultraviolet pulses, our results unfold opportunities to carry out ultrafast manipulation of coherent processes at short wavelengths using free-electron lasers.
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| 9. |
- Finetti, P., et al.
(författare)
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Optical setup for two-colour experiments at the low density matter beamline of FERMI
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of optics. - : IOP Publishing. - 0150-536X .- 2040-8978 .- 2040-8986. ; 19:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The low density matter beamline of the free electron laser facility FERMI is dedicated to the study of atomic, molecular and cluster systems, and here we describe the optical setup available for two-colour experiments. Samples can be exposed to ultrashort pulses from a Ti:Sapphire source (fundamental, or second or third harmonic), and ultrashort light pulses of FERMI in the EUV/soft x-ray region with a well-defined temporal delay, and negligible jitter (<10 fs) compared to the pulse durations (40–100 fs). Detection schemes available include electron, ion and optical spectroscopy. The majority of experiments using this apparatus are pump-and-probe, where either wavelength can be pump or probe, but the system is also useful for other techniques, such as multi-photon spectroscopy, cross-correlation measurements and alignment of molecules in space.
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| 10. |
- Borne, Kurtis D., et al.
(författare)
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Ultrafast electronic relaxation pathways of the molecular photoswitch quadricyclane
- 2024
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Ingår i: NATURE CHEMISTRY. - 1755-4330 .- 1755-4349. ; 16, s. 499-505
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The light-induced ultrafast switching between molecular isomers norbornadiene and quadricyclane can reversibly store and release a substantial amount of chemical energy. Prior work observed signatures of ultrafast molecular dynamics in both isomers upon ultraviolet excitation but could not follow the electronic relaxation all the way back to the ground state experimentally. Here we study the electronic relaxation of quadricyclane after exciting in the ultraviolet (201 nanometres) using time-resolved gas-phase extreme ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy combined with non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. We identify two competing pathways by which electronically excited quadricyclane molecules relax to the electronic ground state. The fast pathway (<100 femtoseconds) is distinguished by effective coupling to valence electronic states, while the slow pathway involves initial motions across Rydberg states and takes several hundred femtoseconds. Both pathways facilitate interconversion between the two isomers, albeit on different timescales, and we predict that the branching ratio of norbornadiene/quadricyclane products immediately after returning to the electronic ground state is approximately 3:2.
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