Harnessing Attosecond Science for Coherent X-Ray Generation and Applications

Dr. Margaret MurnaneJILAUniversity of Colorado, Boulder"Harnessing Attosecond Science for Coherent X-Ray Generation and Applications"Lecture 2:00 PMOlin Hall of Engineering (OHE 122)
Hosted by Prof. Hossein HashemiAbstract
To generate coherent x-ray beams, extreme nonlinear optical techniques have succeeded in upshifting visible laser light into the x-ray region of the spectrum. This ability has given us a new coherent light source that spans such a large region of the spectrum that we now access processes that occur on sub-femtosecond or attosecond (1 as=10-18 s) time-scales. Equally intriguing is the fact that we have learned how to use femtosecond laser light to coherently manipulate electrons in atoms and molecules on their fundamental, attosecond timescales. The richness and complexity of attosecond science and technology is only just beginning to be uncovered. As I will discuss in this talk, attosecond science can capture the complex, interwoven dance of electrons in molecules and materials. Attosecond science also shows great promise for developing new ultrasensitive molecular imaging and spectroscopic
techniques. Finally, attosecond science represents the most promising avenue to achieve what had seemed hopelessly impractical until now -- the generation of bright, coherent, hard x-ray beams using a tabletop-scale apparatus.Bio
Margaret Murnane is a Fellow of JILA and is a member of the faculty in the Department of Physics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Colorado. She received
her Ph.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley, before joining the faculty
at Washington State University in 1990. In 1996, Professor Murnane moved to the University
of Michigan, and in 1999 she moved to the University of Colorado. Prof. Murnane's research interests have been in ultrafast optical and x-ray science and technology. She runs a joint research group with her husband, Professor Henry Kapteyn, as well as a high tech laser company, KMLabs. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, and the AAAS. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006. She was also awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship in 2000. Prof. Murnane is very interested in increasing diversity in science and engineering.

Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Ericka Lieberknecht