AXSIS: Exploring the frontiers in attosecond X-ray science, imaging and spectroscopy

Area of Science:

• Structural Biology
• Ultrafast Spectroscopy
• X-ray Crystallography

Background:

• Life's essential processes, like photosynthesis, are light-induced and occur on ultrafast timescales.
• Current methods like optical spectroscopy offer limited insight into the complexity of these reactions.
• Understanding atomic and molecular dynamics is key to unraveling fundamental biological and chemical mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel technique, attosecond serial X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy, for atomic-resolution studies of ultrafast processes.
• To gain a comprehensive understanding of reaction mechanisms in chemistry and biology at the electronic energy landscape.
• To elucidate the dynamics of light reactions, electron transfer, and protein structure in photosynthesis.

Main Methods:

• Development of a compact, coherent, THz-driven attosecond X-ray source using coherent inverse Compton scattering.
• Utilizing serial X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy to capture diffraction and spectral data.
• Optimizing X-ray pulse parameters, sample delivery, crystal size, and X-ray detectors.

Main Results:

• The AXSIS project is developing a groundbreaking method for studying ultrafast molecular processes.
• The new technique aims to overcome limitations of current methods by providing atomic resolution and real-space insights.
• The developed attosecond X-ray source is designed to mitigate radiation damage effects.

Conclusions:

• Attosecond serial X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy promises to revolutionize the study of molecular dynamics.
• This technique will enable a deeper understanding of energy conversion processes and other fundamental biological mechanisms.
• The ultimate application is to solve critical problems in structural biology, such as understanding photosynthesis.