A Publication in the Esteemed Scientific Journal Nature Communications

Date of publication: 22. 9. 2015
News

Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Giovanni De Ninno, the research members of the Laboratory of Quantum Optics at the University of Nova Gorica, together with the researchers at the Sinhrotron in Trieste, published an article in the esteemed scientific journal Nature Communications on 20 August.

A Publication in the Esteemed Scientific Journal Nature Communications

In the article authors carried out a first complete characterization of the spectro-temporal properties of the ultra-short XUV pulses generated by a free-electron laser (FEL). The implemented method shows a way to generate FEL pulse at the Fourier limit, that is pulses with the shortest possible duration (for a given spectral width). This is an important step towards the development of new spectrocopic methods for the characterization of materials’ atomic properties.

Indeed, using the light generated by FELs it is possible to get a deep insight into the most important properties of biological systems and inorganic materials. This is done by using the FEL light for triggering and then investigating the dynamics of chemical reactions occurring in the sample under scrutiny, with femotsecond and nanometric resolution. Until now, no methods were available allowing to measure and tailor important features of the FEL light, such as the pulse duration and the phase of the pulse electric field. The successful experiment reported in the article was carried out jointly be the researchers of the Laboratory of Quantum Optics and their colleagues working at Sincrotrone Trieste (Italy). The published results will play an important role in the analysis and interpretation of the experimental data collected at the FERMI FEL, as well as at other FELs around the world.

Link to the article: "http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150820/ncomms9075/full/ncomms9075.html"