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April 29, 2022
News Feature
How a soil microbe could rev up artificial photosynthesis
Researchers discover that a spot of molecular glue and a timely twist help a bacterial enzyme convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds 20 times faster than plant enzymes do during photosynthesis. The results stand to accelerate progress toward converting carbon dioxide into a variety of products.
An illustration shows the pocket in an enzyme called ECR where the carbon fixing reaction takes place.
February 14, 2022
News Feature
A new way to shape a material’s atomic structure with ultrafast laser light
X-ray laser experiments show that intense light distorts the structure of a thermoelectric material in a unique way, opening a new avenue for controlling the properties of materials.
Illustration shows two ball-and-stick molecules in pink and red separated by a blurred streak representing how the first structure is slightly deformed into the second.
January 27, 2022
News Feature
Researchers use attosecond X-ray pulses to track electron motion in a highly excited quantum state of matter
Less than a millionth of a billionth of a second long, attosecond X-ray pulses allow researchers to peer deep inside molecules and follow electrons as they zip around and ultimately initiate chemical reactions.
attosecond_coherent_electron_motions
November 16, 2021
News Feature
Bucket brigades and proton gates: Researchers shed new light on water’s role in photosynthesis
A better understanding of this process could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy.
water droplets on plant
October 22, 2021
News Feature
Experiments confirm a quantum material’s unique response to circularly polarized laser light
Topological insulators conduct electricity on their surfaces but not through their interiors. SLAC scientists discovered that high harmonic generation produces a unique signature from the topological surface.
A counterclockwise pattern of swirling arrows This pattern of arrows representing the combined spin and momentum of electrons in the surface layer of a topological insulator
October 14, 2021
News Feature
Rule-following molecules provide the first direct confirmation of a half-century-old theory
The results could lead to a better understanding of reactions with vital roles in chemistry and biology.
UED conformers
June 3, 2021
News Feature
SLAC’s Panofsky fellows talk about what makes their research so exciting
From the invisible world of elementary particles to the mysteries of the cosmos, recipients of this prestigious award for early career scientists explore nature at every level.
Panofsky fellows
May 27, 2021
News Feature
Three SLAC researchers are recognized with prestigious DOE Early Career Awards
Edward Hohenstein, Emma McBride and Caterina Vernieri study what happens to molecules hit by light, recreate extreme states of matter like those inside stars and planets, and search for new physics phenomena at the most fundamental level.
Early Career Awardees 2021
March 11, 2021
News Feature
Researchers gain insight into how solvent molecules impact light-driven reactions
This new understanding could aid the development of more efficient clean energy sources.
electron transfer
February 2, 2021
News Feature
A new hands-off probe uses light to explore the subtleties of electron behavior in a topological insulator
Just as pressing a guitar string produces a higher pitch, sending laser light through a material can shift it to higher energies and higher frequencies. Now scientists have discovered how to use this phenomenon to explore quantum materials in a new and much more detailed way.
Illustration of high harmonic generation in a topological insulator using circularly polarized laser light

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