| 1. |
- Engel, Robin Y., et al.
(författare)
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Electron population dynamics in resonant non-linear x-ray absorption in nickel at a free-electron laser
- 2023
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Ingår i: Structural Dynamics. - : American Institute of Physics (AIP). - 2329-7778. ; 10:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Free-electron lasers provide bright, ultrashort, and monochromatic x-ray pulses, enabling novel spectroscopic measurements not only with femtosecond temporal resolution: The high fluence of their x-ray pulses can also easily enter the regime of the non-linear x-ray-matter interaction. Entering this regime necessitates a rigorous analysis and reliable prediction of the relevant non-linear processes for future experiment designs. Here, we show non-linear changes in the L-3-edge absorption of metallic nickel thin films, measured with fluences up to 60 J/cm(2). We present a simple but predictive rate model that quantitatively describes spectral changes based on the evolution of electronic populations within the pulse duration. Despite its simplicity, the model reaches good agreement with experimental results over more than three orders of magnitude in fluence, while providing a straightforward understanding of the interplay of physical processes driving the non-linear changes. Our findings provide important insights for the design and evaluation of future high-fluence free-electron laser experiments and contribute to the understanding of non-linear electron dynamics in x-ray absorption processes in solids at the femtosecond timescale.
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| 2. |
- Engel, Robin Y., et al.
(författare)
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Parallel Broadband Femtosecond Reflection Spectroscopy at a Soft X-Ray Free-Electron Laser
- 2020
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Ingår i: Applied Sciences. - : MDPI. - 2076-3417. ; 10:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Featured Application Exploiting the full flux and temporal resolution of SASE-FELs for highly sensitive X-ray absorption measurements. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and the directly linked X-ray reflectivity near absorption edges yield a wealth of specific information on the electronic structure around the resonantly addressed element. Observing the dynamic response of complex materials to optical excitations in pump-probe experiments requires high sensitivity to small changes in the spectra which in turn necessitates the brilliance of free electron laser (FEL) pulses. However, due to the fluctuating spectral content of pulses generated by self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE), FEL experiments often struggle to reach the full sensitivity and time-resolution that FELs can in principle enable. Here, we implement a setup which solves two common challenges in this type of spectroscopy using FELs: First, we achieve a high spectral resolution by using a spectrometer downstream of the sample instead of a monochromator upstream of the sample. Thus, the full FEL bandwidth contributes to the measurement at the same time, and the FEL pulse duration is not elongated by a monochromator. Second, the FEL beam is divided into identical copies by a transmission grating beam splitter so that two spectra from separate spots on the sample (or from the sample and known reference) can be recorded in-parallel with the same spectrometer, enabling a spectrally resolved intensity normalization of pulse fluctuations in pump-probe scenarios. We analyze the capabilities of this setup around the oxygen K- and nickel L-edges recorded with third harmonic radiation of the free electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH), demonstrating the capability for pump-probe measurements with sensitivity to reflectivity changes on the per mill level.
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| 3. |
- Thielemann-Kühn, Nele, et al.
(författare)
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Optical control of 4f orbital state in rare-earth metals
- 2024
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Ingår i: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 10:16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A change of orbital state alters the coupling between ions and their surroundings drastically. Orbital excitations are hence key to understand and control interaction of ions. Rare-earth elements with strong magneto-crystalline anisotropy (MCA) are important ingredients for magnetic devices. Thus, control of their localized 4f magnetic moments and anisotropy is one major challenge in ultrafast spin physics. With time-resolved x-ray absorption and resonant inelastic scattering experiments, we show for Tb metal that 4f-electronic excitations out of the ground-state multiplet occur after optical pumping. These excitations are driven by inelastic 5d-4f-electron scattering, altering the 4f-orbital state and consequently the MCA with important implications for magnetization dynamics in 4f-metals and more general for the excitation of localized electronic states in correlated materials.
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| 4. |
- Bari, Sadia, et al.
(författare)
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Soft X-ray Spectroscopy as a Probe for Gas-Phase Protein Structure : Electron Impact Ionization from Within
- 2018
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Ingår i: Chemistry - A European Journal. - : Wiley. - 0947-6539. ; 24:30, s. 7631-7636
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Preservation of protein conformation upon transfer into the gas phase is key for structure determination of free single molecules, for example using X-ray free-electron lasers. In the gas phase, the helicity of melittin decreases strongly as the protein's protonation state increases. We demonstrate the sensitivity of soft X-ray spectroscopy to the gas-phase structure of melittin cations ([melittin+qH]q+, q=2-4) in a cryogenic linear radiofrequency ion trap. With increasing helicity, we observe a decrease of the dominating carbon 1s-π* transition in the amide C=O bonds for non-dissociative single ionization and an increase for non-dissociative double ionization. As the underlying mechanism we identify inelastic electron scattering. Using an independent atom model, we show that the more compact nature of the helical protein conformation substantially increases the probability for off-site intramolecular ionization by inelastic Auger electron scattering.
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| 5. |
- Diesen, Elias, et al.
(författare)
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Ultrafast Adsorbate Excitation Probed with Subpicosecond-Resolution X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 127:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We use a pump-probe scheme to measure the time evolution of the C K-edge x-ray absorption spectrum from CO/Ru(0001) after excitation by an ultrashort high-intensity optical laser pulse. Because of the short duration of the x-ray probe pulse and precise control of the pulse delay, the excitation-induced dynamics during the first picosecond after the pump can be resolved with unprecedented time resolution. By comparing with density functional theory spectrum calculations, we find high excitation of the internal stretch and frustrated rotation modes occurring within 200 fs of laser excitation, as well as thermalization of the system in the picosecond regime. The ∼100 fs initial excitation of these CO vibrational modes is not readily rationalized by traditional theories of nonadiabatic coupling of adsorbates to metal surfaces, e.g., electronic frictions based on first order electron-phonon coupling or transient population of adsorbate resonances. We suggest that coupling of the adsorbate to nonthermalized electron-hole pairs is responsible for the ultrafast initial excitation of the modes.
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| 6. |
- Eckert, Sebastian, et al.
(författare)
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Ultrafast Independent N-H and N-C Bond Deformation Investigated with Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering
- 2017
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Ingår i: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. - : Wiley. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773. ; 56:22, s. 6088-6092
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The femtosecond excited-state dynamics following resonant photoexcitation enable the selective deformation of N-H and N-C chemical bonds in 2-thiopyridone in aqueous solution with optical or X-ray pulses. In combination with multiconfigurational quantum-chemical calculations, the orbital-specific electronic structure and its ultrafast dynamics accessed with resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the N 1s level using synchrotron radiation and the soft X-ray free-electron laser LCLS provide direct evidence for this controlled photoinduced molecular deformation and its ultrashort time-scale.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Jay, Raphael M., et al.
(författare)
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The nature of frontier orbitals under systematic ligand exchange in (pseudo-)octahedral Fe(II) complexes
- 2018
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Ingår i: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 20:44, s. 27745-27751
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding and controlling properties of transition metal complexes is a crucial step towards tailoring materials for sustainable energy applications. In a systematic approach, we use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering to study the influence of ligand substitution on the valence electronic structure around an aqueous iron(II) center. Exchanging cyanide with 2-2'-bipyridine ligands reshapes frontier orbitals in a way that reduces metal 3d charge delocalization onto the ligands. This net decrease of metal-ligand covalency results in lower metal-centered excited state energies in agreement with previously reported excited state dynamics. Furthermore, traces of solvent-effects were found indicating a varying interaction strength of the solvent with ligands of different character. Our results demonstrate how ligand exchange can be exploited to shape frontier orbitals of transition metal complexes in solution-phase chemistry; insights upon which future efforts can built when tailoring the functionality of photoactive systems for light-harvesting applications.
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| 9. |
- Kunnus, Kristjan, et al.
(författare)
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Viewing the Valence Electronic Structure of Ferric and Ferrous Hexacyanide in Solution from the Fe and Cyanide Perspectives
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-6106 .- 1520-5207. ; 120:29, s. 7182-7194
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The valence-excited states of ferric and ferrous hexacyanide ions in aqueous solution were mapped by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Fe L-2,L-3 and N K edges. Probing of both the central Fe and the ligand N atoms enabled identification of the metal-and ligand-centered excited states, as well as ligand-to-metal and metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited states. Ab initio calculations utilizing the RASPT2 method were used to simulate the Fe L-2,L-3-edge RIXS spectra and enabled quantification of the covalencies of both occupied and empty orbitals of pi and sigma symmetry. We found that pi back-donation in the ferric complex is smaller than that in the ferrous complex. This is evidenced by the relative amounts of Fe 3d character in the nominally 2 pi CN- molecular orbital of 7% and 9% in ferric and ferrous hexacyanide, respectively. Utilizing the direct sensitivity of Fe L-3-edge RIXS to the Fe 3d character in the occupied molecular orbitals, we also found that the donation interactions are dominated by sigma bonding. The latter was found to be stronger in the ferric complex, with an Fe 3d contribution to the nominally 5 sigma CN- molecular orbitals of 29% compared to 20% in the ferrous complex. These results are consistent with the notion that a higher charge at the central metal atom increases donation and decreases back-donation.
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| 10. |
- LaRue, Jerry, et al.
(författare)
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Symmetry-resolved CO desorption and oxidation dynamics on O/Ru(0001) probed at the C K-edge by ultrafast x-ray spectroscopy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 157:16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on carbon monoxide desorption and oxidation induced by 400 nm femtosecond laser excitation on the O/Ru(0001) surface probed by time-resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy (TR-XAS) at the carbon K-edge. The experiments were performed under constant background pressures of CO (6 × 10−8 Torr) and O2 (3 × 10−8 Torr). Under these conditions, we detect two transient CO species with narrow 2π* peaks, suggesting little 2π* interaction with the surface. Based on polarization measurements, we find that these two species have opposing orientations: (1) CO favoring a more perpendicular orientation and (2) CO favoring a more parallel orientation with respect to the surface. We also directly detect gas-phase CO2 using a mass spectrometer and observe weak signatures of bent adsorbed CO2 at slightly higher x-ray energies than the 2π* region. These results are compared to previously reported TR-XAS results at the O K-edge, where the CO background pressure was three times lower (2 × 10−8 Torr) while maintaining the same O2 pressure. At the lower CO pressure, in the CO 2π* region, we observed adsorbed CO and a distribution of OC–O bond lengths close to the CO oxidation transition state, with little indication of gas-like CO. The shift toward “gas-like” CO species may be explained by the higher CO exposure, which blocks O adsorption, decreasing O coverage and increasing CO coverage. These effects decrease the CO desorption barrier through dipole–dipole interaction while simultaneously increasing the CO oxidation barrier.
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