X-ray science

SLAC and Stanford partner with Argonne National Laboratory and others toward a quantum-interconnected world.

After a major upgrade, SLAC's X-ray free-electron laser is 10,000 times brighter and thousands of times faster. Now, researchers are using LCLS to observe electrons in real time as they move across molecules.

His visit highlighted the breadth of our world-class research and the people and collaborations that make it possible. A key theme of the day: how SLAC and the National Labs are advancing AI to accelerate discovery.

They used SLAC’s ultrafast X-ray laser to follow the impact of a single electron moving within a molecule during an entire chemical reaction.

The technique could improve how scientists study materials and drive advancements in high-performance technologies, such as next-generation computer chips.

With a suite of reimagined instruments, researchers take up scientific inquiries that were out of reach just one year ago. 

These observations are a crucial step toward truly understanding chemical processes.

The team unexpectedly formed gold hydride in an experiment that could pave the way for studying materials under extreme conditions like those found inside certain planets and stars undergoing nuclear fusion.

Results obtained with SLAC’s X-ray laser show how tiny magnetic coils can align over a surprisingly broad timescale, inspiring new ideas for microelectronics. 

Researchers used the upgraded LCLS to better understand what makes Xanthone – a powerful photocatalyst used in cancer therapies –  so efficient.  

Now 10,000 times brighter and thousands of times faster, LCLS sheds light on the formation of free radicals in nature.