107 research outputs found
Seeded x-ray free-electron laser generating radiation with laser statistical properties
The invention of optical lasers led to a revolution in the field of optics
and even to the creation of completely new fields of research such as quantum
optics. The reason was their unique statistical and coherence properties. The
newly emerging, short-wavelength free-electron lasers (FELs) are sources of
very bright coherent extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) and x-ray radiation with pulse
durations on the order of femtoseconds, and are presently considered to be
laser sources at these energies. Most existing FELs are highly spatially
coherent but in spite of their name, they behave statistically as chaotic
sources. Here, we demonstrate experimentally, by combining Hanbury Brown and
Twiss (HBT) interferometry with spectral measurements that the seeded XUV FERMI
FEL-2 source does indeed behave statistically as a laser. The first steps have
been taken towards exploiting the first-order coherence of FELs, and the
present work opens the way to quantum optics experiments that strongly rely on
high-order statistical properties of the radiation.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, 37 reference
Serviços ecológicos de insetos e outros artrópodes em sistemas agroflorestais.
Com a crescente demanda global por alimentos há aumento do impacto ambiental das atividades para produção animal e agrícola sobre a biodiversidade, ocasionando redução cada vez mais acentuada de insetos e artóprodes. Porém, os serviços ecológicos fornecidos pela biodiversidade podem ser importantes para a produção sustentável de alimentos em sistemas agroflorestais. Nessa revisão bibliográfica objetivou-se elucidar como insetos e artrópodes podem ser benéficos em sistemas de produção agropecuários, em especial sistemas agroflorestais (SAFs). A diversidade desses organismos auxilia na conservação e preservação do meio ambiente dentro e no entorno desse tipo de uso da terra. Além disso, pesquisas científicas constataram que o nicho ecológico de insetos e outros tipos de artrópodes são essencialmente importantes para a ciclagem de nutrientes e manutenção da sustentabilidade e produção dos agroecossistemas. As monoculturas, quando comparadas com sistemas agroflorestais, provocam significativas perdas de biodiversidade, inclusive de insetos. Portanto, a exploração de sistemas agroflorestais em consonância com a preservação do meio ambiente e aproveitando seus serviços ecológicos pode ser uma alternativa sutentável para áreas de produção agrícola
Multi-Color Imaging of Magnetic Co/Pt Multilayers
We demonstrate for the first time the realization of a spatial resolved two color, element-specific imaging experiment at the free-electron laser facility FERMI. Coherent imaging using Fourier transform holography was used to achieve direct real space access to the nanometer length scale of magnetic domains of Co/Pt heterostructures via the element-specific magnetic dichroism in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. As a first step to implement this technique for studies of ultrafast phenomena we present the spatially resolved response of magnetic domains upon femtosecond laser excitation
Short-wavelength four wave mixing experiments using single and two-color schemes at FERMI
The development of ultra-bright extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray free electron laser (FEL) sources has enabled the extension of wave-mixing approaches into the short wavelength regime. Such a class of experiments relies upon nonlinear interactions among multiple light pulses offering a unique tool for exploring the dynamics of ultrafast processes and correlations between selected excitations at relevant length and time scales adding elemental and site selectivity as well. Besides the availability of a suitable photon source, the implementation of wave mixing methodology requires efforts in developing the instrumental set-up. We have realized at the FERMI FEL two dedicated set-ups to handle multiple FEL beams with preselected parameters in a non-collinear fashion and control their interaction sequence at the target. These unique apparatuses, combined with the exceptional characteristics of the seeded FERMI FEL, have allowed us to make the first steps into this field and further advances are foreseen in the near future
Nanoscale transient magnetization gratings excited and probed by femtosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses
We utilize coherent femtosecond extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulses derived from
a free electron laser (FEL) to generate transient periodic magnetization
patterns with periods as short as 44 nm. Combining spatially periodic
excitation with resonant probing at the dichroic M-edge of cobalt allows us to
create and probe transient gratings of electronic and magnetic excitations in a
CoGd alloy. In a demagnetized sample, we observe an electronic excitation with
50 fs rise time close to the FEL pulse duration and ~0.5 ps decay time within
the range for the electron-phonon relaxation in metals. When the experiment is
performed on a sample magnetized to saturation in an external field, we observe
a magnetization grating, which appears on a sub-picosecond time scale as the
sample is demagnetized at the maxima of the EUV intensity and then decays on
the time scale of tens of picoseconds via thermal diffusion. The described
approach opens prospects for studying dynamics of ultrafast magnetic phenomena
on nanometer length scales
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Transient magnetic gratings on the nanometer scale
Laser-driven non-local electron dynamics in ultrathin magnetic samples on a sub-10 nm length scale is a key process in ultrafast magnetism. However, the experimental access has been challenging due to the nanoscopic and femtosecond nature of such transport processes. Here, we present a scattering-based experiment relying on a laser-induced electro- and magneto-optical grating in a Co/Pd ferromagnetic multilayer as a new technique to investigate non-local magnetization dynamics on nanometer length and femtosecond timescales. We induce a spatially modulated excitation pattern using tailored Al near-field masks with varying periodicities on a nanometer length scale and measure the first four diffraction orders in an x-ray scattering experiment with magnetic circular dichroism contrast at the free-electron laser facility FERMI, Trieste. The design of the periodic excitation mask leads to a strongly enhanced and characteristic transient scattering response allowing for sub-wavelength in-plane sensitivity for magnetic structures. In conjunction with scattering simulations, the experiment allows us to infer that a potential ultrafast lateral expansion of the initially excited regions of the magnetic film mediated by hot-electron transport and spin transport remains confined to below three nanometers
High-resolution ptychographic imaging at a seeded free-electron laser source using OAM beams
Electromagnetic waves possessing orbital angular momentum (OAM) are powerful
tools for applications in optical communications, new quantum technologies and
optical tweezers. Recently, they have attracted growing interest since they can
be harnessed to detect peculiar helical dichroic effects in chiral molecular
media and in magnetic nanostructures. In this work, we perform single-shot per
position ptychography on a nanostructured object at a seeded free-electron
laser, using extreme ultraviolet OAM beams of different topological charge
order generated with spiral zone plates. By controlling , we
demonstrate how the structural features of OAM beam profile determine an
improvement of about 30% in image resolution with respect to conventional
Gaussian beam illumination. This result extends the capabilities of coherent
diffraction imaging techniques, and paves the way for achieving time-resolved
high-resolution (below 100 nm) microscopy on large area samples.Comment: M. Pancaldi and F. Guzzi contributed equally to this wor
International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force consensus proposal: Medical treatment of canine epilepsy in Europe
In Europe, the number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) licensed for dogs has grown considerably over the last years. Nevertheless, the same questions remain, which include, 1) when to start treatment, 2) which drug is best used initially, 3) which adjunctive AED can be advised if treatment with the initial drug is unsatisfactory, and 4) when treatment changes should be considered. In this consensus proposal, an overview is given on the aim of AED treatment, when to start long-term treatment in canine epilepsy and which veterinary AEDs are currently in use for dogs. The consensus proposal for drug treatment protocols, 1) is based on current published evidence-based literature, 2) considers the current legal framework of the cascade regulation for the prescription of veterinary drugs in Europe, and 3) reflects the authors’ experience. With this paper it is aimed to provide a consensus for the management of canine idiopathic epilepsy. Furthermore, for the management of structural epilepsy AEDs are inevitable in addition to treating the underlying cause, if possible
Tunability experiments at the FERMI@Elettra free-electron laser
FERMI@Elettra is a free electron-laser (FEL)-based user facility that, after two years of commissioning, started preliminary users' dedicated runs in 2011. At variance with other FEL user facilities, FERMI@Elettra has been designed to deliver improved spectral stability and longitudinal coherence. The adopted scheme, which uses an external laser to initiate the FEL process, has been demonstrated to be capable of generating FEL pulses close to the Fourier transform limit. We report on the first instance of FEL wavelength tuning, both in a narrow and in a large spectral range (fine- and coarse-tuning). We also report on two different experiments that have been performed exploiting such FEL tuning. We used fine-tuning to scan across the 1s–4p resonance in He atoms, at ≈23.74 eV (52.2 nm), detecting both UV–visible fluorescence (4p–2s, 400 nm) and EUV fluorescence (4p–1s, 52.2 nm). We used coarse-tuning to scan the M4,5 absorption edge of Ge (∼29.5 eV) in the wavelength region 30–60 nm, measured in transmission geometry with a thermopile positioned on the rear side of a Ge thin foil
Surface and bulk contribution to Cu(111) quantum efficiency
The quantum efficiency (QE) of Cu(111) is measured for different impinging light angles with photon energies just above the work function. We observe that the vectorial photoelectric effect, an enhancement of the QE due to illumination with light with an electric vector perpendicular to the sample surface, is stronger in the more surface sensitive regime. This can be explained by a contribution to photoemission due to the variation in the electromagnetic potential at the surface. The contributions of bulk and surface electrons can then be determined
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