Properties of electrons scattered on a strong plane electromagnetic wave with a linear polarization: classical treatment

The relations among the components of the exit momenta of ultrarelativistic electrons scattered on a strong electromagnetic wave of a low (optical) frequency and linear polarization are established using the exact solutions to the equations of motion with radiation reaction included (the Landau-Lifshitz equation). It is found that the momentum components of the electrons traversed the electromagnetic wave depend weakly on the initial values of the momenta. These electrons are mostly scattered at the small angles to the direction of propagation of the electromagnetic wave. The maximum Lorentz factor of the electrons crossed the electromagnetic wave is proportional to the work done by the electromagnetic field and is independent of the initial momenta. The momentum component parallel to the electric field strength vector of the electromagnetic wave is determined only by the diameter of the laser beam measured in the units of the classical electron radius. As for the reflected electrons, they for the most part lose the energy, but remain relativistic. There is a reflection law for these electrons that relates the incident and the reflection angles and is independent of any parameters.Comment: 12 pp, 3 fig

Attosecond-Angstrom free-electron-laser towards the cold beam limit

Electron beam quality is paramount for X-ray pulse production in free-electron-lasers (FELs). State-of-the-art linear accelerators (linacs) can deliver multi-GeV electron beams with sufficient quality for hard X-ray-FELs, albeit requiring km-scale setups, whereas plasma-based accelerators can produce multi-GeV electron beams on metre-scale distances, and begin to reach beam qualities sufficient for EUV FELs. We show, that electron beams from plasma photocathodes many orders of magnitude brighter than state-of-the-art can be generated in plasma wakefield accelerators (PWFA), and then extracted, captured, transported and injected into undulators without quality loss. These ultrabright, sub-femtosecond electron beams can drive hard X-FELs near the cold beam limit to generate coherent X-ray pulses of attosecond-Angstrom class, reaching saturation after only 10 metres of undulator. This plasma-X-FEL opens pathways for novel photon science capabilities, such as unperturbed observation of electronic motion inside atoms at their natural time and length scale, and towards higher photon energies

Attosecond-Angstrom free-electron-laser towards the cold beam limit

Electron beam quality is paramount for X-ray pulse production in free-electron-lasers (FELs). State-of-the-art linear accelerators (linacs) can deliver multi-GeV electron beams with sufficient quality for hard X-ray-FELs, albeit requiring km-scale setups, whereas plasma-based accelerators can produce multi-GeV electron beams on metre-scale distances, and begin to reach beam qualities sufficient for EUV FELs. We show, that electron beams from plasma photocathodes many orders of magnitude brighter than state-of-the-art can be generated in plasma wakefield accelerators (PWFAs), and then extracted, captured, transported and injected into undulators without quality loss. These ultrabright, sub-femtosecond electron beams can drive hard X-FELs near the cold beam limit to generate coherent X-ray pulses of attosecond-Angstrom class, reaching saturation after only 10 metres of undulator. This plasma-X-FEL opens pathways for novel photon science capabilities, such as unperturbed observation of electronic motion inside atoms at their natural time and length scale, and towards higher photon energies

The History, Relevance, and Applications of the Periodic System in Geochemistry

Geochemistry is a discipline in the earth sciences concerned with understanding the chemistry of the Earth and what that chemistry tells us about the processes that control the formation and evolution of Earth materials and the planet itself. The periodic table and the periodic system, as developed by Mendeleev and others in the nineteenth century, are as important in geochemistry as in other areas of chemistry. In fact, systemisation of the myriad of observations that geochemists make is perhaps even more important in this branch of chemistry, given the huge variability in the nature of Earth materials – from the Fe-rich core, through the silicate-dominated mantle and crust, to the volatile-rich ocean and atmosphere. This systemisation started in the eighteenth century, when geochemistry did not yet exist as a separate pursuit in itself. Mineralogy, one of the disciplines that eventually became geochemistry, was central to the discovery of the elements, and nineteenth-century mineralogists played a key role in this endeavour. Early “geochemists” continued this systemisation effort into the twentieth century, particularly highlighted in the career of V.M. Goldschmidt. The focus of the modern discipline of geochemistry has moved well beyond classification, in order to invert the information held in the properties of elements across the periodic table and their distribution across Earth and planetary materials, to learn about the physicochemical processes that shaped the Earth and other planets, on all scales. We illustrate this approach with key examples, those rooted in the patterns inherent in the periodic law as well as those that exploit concepts that only became familiar after Mendeleev, such as stable and radiogenic isotopes

Barium isotopes in cold-water corals

Recent studies have introduced stable Ba isotopes (δ138/134Ba) as a novel tracer for ocean processes. Ba isotopes could potentially provide insight into the oceanic Ba cycle, the ocean’s biological pump, water-mass provenance in the deep ocean, changes in activity of hydrothermal vents, and land-sea interactions including tracing riverine inputs. Here, we show that aragonite skeletons of various colonial and solitary cold-water coral (CWC) taxa record the seawater (SW) Ba isotope composition. Thirty-six corals of eight different taxa from three oceanic regions were analysed and compared to δ138/134Ba measurements of co-located seawater samples. Sites were chosen to cover a wide range of temperature, salinity, Ba concentrations and Ba isotope compositions. Seawater samples at the three sites exhibit the well-established anti-correlation between Ba concentration and δ138/134Ba. Furthermore, our data set suggests that Ba/Ca values in CWCs are linearly correlated with dissolved [Ba] in ambient seawater, with an average partition coefficient of DCWC/SW= 1.8 ± 0.4 (2SD). The mean isotope fractionation of Ba between seawater and CWCs 138/134BaCWC–SWis −0.21 ± 0.08h (2SD), indicating that CWC aragonite preferentially incorporates the lighter isotopes. This fractionation likely does not depend on temperature or other environmental variables, suggesting that aragonite CWCs could be used to trace the Ba isotope composition in ambient seawater. Coupled [Ba] and δ138/134Ba analysis on fossil CWCs has the potential to provide new information about past changes in the local and global relationship between [Ba] and δ138/134Ba and hence about the operation of the past global oceanic Ba cycle in different climate regimes

Demonstration of harmonic interaction in an undulator up to the 15th order

We report on experimental studies on the harmonic interaction between an optical laser and a relativistic electron beam in an undulator up to the 15th order. In this experiment, a significant energy modulation is imprinted on the beam longitudinal phase space through the electron-laser interaction when the laser frequency is the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th or 15th harmonic of the fundamental resonant frequency of the undulator. The experimental results are in good agreement with theory, and indicate that high harmonic interactions in undulators with large K values and small phase errors can be quite efficient. The results confirm the basic physics of harmonic interaction with a goal toward ushering forward the development of many high harmonic based applications in free-electron lasers

Barium isotopes in cold-water corals

Recent studies have introduced stable Ba isotopes (δ138/134δ138/134Ba) as a novel tracer for ocean processes. Ba isotopes could potentially provide insight into the oceanic Ba cycle, the ocean's biological pump, water-mass provenance in the deep ocean, changes in activity of hydrothermal vents, and land-sea interactions including tracing riverine inputs. Here, we show that aragonite skeletons of various colonial and solitary cold-water coral (CWC) taxa record the seawater (SW) Ba isotope composition. Thirty-six corals of eight different taxa from three oceanic regions were analysed and compared to δ138/134δ138/134Ba measurements of co-located seawater samples. Sites were chosen to cover a wide range of temperature, salinity, Ba concentrations and Ba isotope compositions. Seawater samples at the three sites exhibit the well-established anti-correlation between Ba concentration and δ138/134δ138/134Ba. Furthermore, our data set suggests that Ba/Ca values in CWCs are linearly correlated with dissolved [Ba] in ambient seawater, with an average partition coefficient of DCWC/SW = 1.8 ± 0.4 (2SD). The mean isotope fractionation of Ba between seawater and CWCs Δ138/134BaCWC–SW is −0.21 ± 0.08‰ (2SD), indicating that CWC aragonite preferentially incorporates the lighter isotopes. This fractionation likely does not depend on temperature or other environmental variables, suggesting that aragonite CWCs could be used to trace the Ba isotope composition in ambient seawater. Coupled [Ba] and δ138/134δ138/134Ba analysis on fossil CWCs has the potential to provide new information about past changes in the local and global relationship between [Ba] and δ138/134δ138/134Ba and hence about the operation of the past global oceanic Ba cycle in different climate regimes