Compton spectra of atoms at high x-ray intensity

Compton scattering is the nonresonant inelastic scattering of an x-ray photon by an electron and has been used to probe the electron momentum distribution in gas-phase and condensed-matter samples. In the low x-ray intensity regime, Compton scattering from atoms dominantly comes from bound electrons in neutral atoms, neglecting contributions from bound electrons in ions and free (ionized) electrons. In contrast, in the high x-ray intensity regime, the sample experiences severe ionization via x-ray multiphoton multiple ionization dynamics. Thus, it becomes necessary to take into account all the contributions to the Compton scattering signal when atoms are exposed to high-intensity x-ray pulses provided by x-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). In this paper, we investigate the Compton spectra of atoms at high x-ray intensity, using an extension of the integrated x-ray atomic physics toolkit, \textsc{xatom}. As the x-ray fluence increases, there is a significant contribution from ionized electrons to the Compton spectra, which gives rise to strong deviations from the Compton spectra of neutral atoms. The present study provides not only understanding of the fundamental XFEL--matter interaction but also crucial information for single-particle imaging experiments, where Compton scattering is no longer negligible.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in the special issue of "Emerging Leaders" in J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from i

Interplay between relativistic energy corrections and resonant excitations in x-ray multiphoton ionization dynamics of Xe atoms

In this paper, we theoretically study x-ray multiphoton ionization dynamics of heavy atoms taking into account relativistic and resonance effects. When an atom is exposed to an intense x-ray pulse generated by an x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), it is ionized to a highly charged ion via a sequence of single-photon ionization and accompanying relaxation processes, and its final charge state is limited by the last ionic state that can be ionized by a single-photon ionization. If x-ray multiphoton ionization involves deep inner-shell electrons in heavy atoms, energy shifts by relativistic effects play an important role in ionization dynamics, as pointed out in [Phys.\ Rev.\ Lett.\ \textbf{110}, 173005 (2013)]. On the other hand, if the x-ray beam has a broad energy bandwidth, the high-intensity x-ray pulse can drive resonant photo-excitations for a broad range of ionic states and ionize even beyond the direct one-photon ionization limit, as first proposed in [Nature\ Photon.\ \textbf{6}, 858 (2012)]. To investigate both relativistic and resonance effects, we extend the \textsc{xatom} toolkit to incorporate relativistic energy corrections and resonant excitations in x-ray multiphoton ionization dynamics calculations. Charge-state distributions are calculated for Xe atoms interacting with intense XFEL pulses at a photon energy of 1.5~keV and 5.5~keV, respectively. For both photon energies, we demonstrate that the role of resonant excitations in ionization dynamics is altered due to significant shifts of orbital energy levels by relativistic effects. Therefore it is necessary to take into account both effects to accurately simulate multiphoton multiple ionization dynamics at high x-ray intensity

Development Of Quantitative FT- IR Methods For Analyzing The Cure Kinetics Of Epoxy Resins

Epoxy thermosets are important engineering materials with applications in coating, adhesives, packaging and as structural components in a variety of advanced engineering products. The ultimate performance of polymer critically depends upon the details of the cure chemistry used to produce the thermoset. In order to better understand and monitor the cure chemistry, quantitative analysis of the FT-IR response has been developed for describing the epoxy-amine curing reaction as well as monitoring the hydrogen bonding that occurs in these systems The FT-IR analysis includes (i) quantitative deconvolution of complex peaks into individual spectral contributions, (ii) peak identification via DFT analysis and (iii) appropriate baseline correction. These FT-IR analysis methods were utilized to resolve spectral complexity in epoxy-amine thermoset resin systems. Using the quantitative FT-IR tools described above, the hydrogen bonding of amine and hydroxyl groups was determined for (i) the self association and inter-association of N-methylaniline (NmA) and isopropanol and (ii) the reaction with a series of hydrogen bonding acceptors, including toluene, triethylamine, epoxy butane and dipropylether that represent ð-bond, electron pair on amine, epoxide and ether groups. Simple mass-action equilibrium models of the amine and hydroxyl group hydrogen bonding were developed, where both the extinction coefficient and equilibrium constants were determined from the data. However, this simple analysis was only valid for dilute concentrations, where an unexpected maximum in the free hydrogen as measured by FT-IR vs. total amount of NmA or isopropanol was observed. It was postulated that a phase transition occurs at high NmA or isopropanol concentrations. The epoxy-amine reaction kinetics was studied using quantitative FT-IR. First, the reaction kinetics of a monoepoxide with a monoamine was studied, where reaction kinetics was followed by (i) HPLC analysis and (ii) then compared with FT-IR analysis. Subsequently, quantitative FT-IR was applied to the thermoset system of a digylcidyl ether of bisphenol-A epoxy cured with aniline, where multiple absorbance profiles for the different vibrational peaks enabled self-consistent determination of the various reacting species. This analysis demonstrates the power of quantitative FT-IR analysis to follow detailed reaction kinetics in thermoset systems. The effect of temperature on the FT-IR spectra was measured for the fully cured Epon825-aniline system, where the hydrogen bonding peaks exhibited significant changes in temperature dependence of the absorbance near the Tg of 95C. Finally relaxation of fully cured polymer was examined by observing the absorbance evolution following a temperature jump. In summary, quantitative FT-IR analysis provides valuable information on the chemical kinetics in curing thermoset systems as well as changes in the structure of the resulting glassy thermoset with temperature and sub-Tg thermal annealing

A molecular-dynamics approach for studying the non-equilibrium behavior of x-ray-heated solid-density matter

When matter is exposed to a high-intensity x-ray free-electron-laser pulse, the x rays excite inner-shell electrons leading to the ionization of the electrons through various atomic processes and creating high-energy-density plasma, i.e., warm or hot dense matter. The resulting system consists of atoms in various electronic configurations, thermalizing on sub-picosecond to picosecond timescales after photoexcitation. We present a simulation study of x-ray-heated solid-density matter. For this we use XMDYN, a Monte-Carlo molecular-dynamics-based code with periodic boundary conditions, which allows one to investigate non-equilibrium dynamics. XMDYN is capable of treating systems containing light and heavy atomic species with full electronic configuration space and 3D spatial inhomogeneity. For the validation of our approach we compare for a model system the electron temperatures and the ion charge-state distribution from XMDYN to results for the thermalized system based on the average-atom model implemented in XATOM, an ab-initio x-ray atomic physics toolkit extended to include a plasma environment. Further, we also compare the average charge evolution of diamond with the predictions of a Boltzmann continuum approach. We demonstrate that XMDYN results are in good quantitative agreement with the above mentioned approaches, suggesting that the current implementation of XMDYN is a viable approach to simulate the dynamics of x-ray-driven non-equilibrium dynamics in solids. In order to illustrate the potential of XMDYN for treating complex systems we present calculations on the triiodo benzene derivative 5-amino-2,4,6-triiodoisophthalic acid (I3C), a compound of relevance of biomolecular imaging, consisting of heavy and light atomic species

Efficient electronic structure calculation for molecular ionization dynamics at high x-ray intensity

We present the implementation of an electronic-structure approach dedicated to ionization dynamics of molecules interacting with x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulses. In our scheme, molecular orbitals for molecular core-hole states are represented by linear combination of numerical atomic orbitals that are solutions of corresponding atomic core-hole states. We demonstrate that our scheme efficiently calculates all possible multiple-hole configurations of molecules formed during XFEL pulses. The present method is suitable to investigate x-ray multiphoton multiple ionization dynamics and accompanying nuclear dynamics, providing essential information on the chemical dynamics relevant for high-intensity x-ray imaging.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figure

Quantum-mechanical calculation of ionization potential lowering in dense plasmas

The charged environment within a dense plasma leads to the phenomenon of ionization potential depression (IPD) for ions embedded in the plasma. Accurate predictions of the IPD effect are of crucial importance for modeling atomic processes occurring within dense plasmas. Several theoretical models have been developed to describe the IPD effect, with frequently discrepant predictions. Only recently, first experiments on IPD in Al plasma have been performed with an x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), where their results were found to be in disagreement with the widely-used IPD model by Stewart and Pyatt. Another experiment on Al, at the Orion laser, showed disagreement with the model by Ecker and Kr\"oll. This controversy shows a strong need for a rigorous and consistent theoretical approach to calculate the IPD effect. Here we propose such an approach: a two-step Hartree-Fock-Slater model. With this parameter-free model we can accurately and efficiently describe the experimental Al data and validate the accuracy of standard IPD models. Our model can be a useful tool for calculating atomic properties within dense plasmas with wide-ranging applications to studies on warm dense matter, shock experiments, planetary science, inertial confinement fusion and studies of non-equilibrium plasmas created with XFELs.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. X; added references [46,47

Incoherent x-ray scattering in single molecule imaging

Imaging of the structure of single proteins or other biomolecules with atomic resolution would be enormously beneficial to structural biology. X-ray free-electron lasers generate highly intense and ultrashort x-ray pulses, providing a route towards imaging of single molecules with atomic resolution. The information on molecular structure is encoded in the coherent x-ray scattering signal. In contrast to crystallography there are no Bragg reflections in single molecule imaging, which means the coherent scattering is not enhanced. Consequently, a background signal from incoherent scattering deteriorates the quality of the coherent scattering signal. This background signal cannot be easily eliminated because the spectrum of incoherently scattered photons cannot be resolved by usual scattering detectors. We present an ab initio study of incoherent x-ray scattering from individual carbon atoms, including the electronic radiation damage caused by a highly intense x-ray pulse. We find that the coherent scattering pattern suffers from a significant incoherent background signal at high resolution. For high x-ray fluence the background signal becomes even dominating. Finally, based on the atomic scattering patterns, we present an estimation for the average photon count in single molecule imaging at high resolution. By varying the photon energy from 3.5 keV to 15 keV, we find that imaging at higher photon energies may improve the coherent scattering signal quality