New Measurement Resolves Key Astrophysical Fe XVII Oscillator Strength Problem.

One of the most enduring and intensively studied problems of x-ray astronomy is the disagreement of state-of-the art theory and observations for the intensity ratio of two Fe XVII transitions of crucial value for plasma diagnostics, dubbed 3C and 3D. We unravel this conundrum at the PETRA III synchrotron facility by increasing the resolving power 2.5 times and the signal-to-noise ratio thousandfold compared with our previous work. The Lorentzian wings had hitherto been indistinguishable from the background and were thus not modeled, resulting in a biased line-strength estimation. The present experimental oscillator-strength ratio R_{exp}=f_{3C}/f_{3D}=3.51(2)_{stat}(7)_{sys} agrees with our state-of-the-art calculation of R_{th}=3.55(2), as well as with some previous theoretical predictions. To further rule out any uncertainties associated with the measured ratio, we also determined the individual natural linewidths and oscillator strengths of 3C and 3D transitions, which also agree well with the theory. This finally resolves the decades-old mystery of Fe XVII oscillator strengths.

High Resolution Photoexcitation Measurements Exacerbate the Long-Standing Fe XVII Oscillator Strength Problem.

For more than 40 years, most astrophysical observations and laboratory studies of two key soft x-ray diagnostic 2p-3d transitions, 3C and 3D, in Fe XVII ions found oscillator strength ratios f(3C)/f(3D) disagreeing with theory, but uncertainties had precluded definitive statements on this much studied conundrum. Here, we resonantly excite these lines using synchrotron radiation at PETRA III, and reach, at a millionfold lower photon intensities, a 10 times higher spectral resolution, and 3 times smaller uncertainty than earlier work. Our final result of f(3C)/f(3D)=3.09(8)(6) supports many of the earlier clean astrophysical and laboratory observations, while departing by five sigmas from our own newest large-scale ab initio calculations, and excluding all proposed explanations, including those invoking nonlinear effects and population transfers.

Direct 2D spatial-coherence determination using the Fourier-analysis method: multi-parameter characterization of the P04 beamline at PETRA III.

We present a systematic 2D spatial-coherence analysis of the soft-X-ray beamline P04 at PETRA III for various beamline configurations. The influence of two different beam-defining apertures on the spatial coherence properties of the beam is discussed and optimal conditions for coherence-based experiments are found. A significant degradation of the spatial coherence in the vertical direction has been measured and sources of this degradation are identified and discussed. The Fourier-analysis method, which gives fast and simple access to the 2D spatial coherence function of the X-ray beam, is used for the experiment. Here, we exploit the charge scattering of a disordered nanodot sample allowing the use of arbitrary X-ray photon energies with this method.

Commissioning of a photoelectron spectrometer for soft X-ray photon diagnostics at the European XFEL.

Commissioning and first operation of an angle-resolved photoelectron spectrometer for non-invasive shot-to-shot diagnostics at the European XFEL soft X-ray beamline are described. The objective with the instrument is to provide the users and operators with reliable pulse-resolved information regarding photon energy and polarization that opens up a variety of applications for novel experiments but also hardware optimization.

Imaging molecular structure through femtosecond photoelectron diffraction on aligned and oriented gas-phase molecules.

This paper gives an account of our progress towards performing femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron diffraction on gas-phase molecules in a pump-probe setup combining optical lasers and an X-ray free-electron laser. We present results of two experiments aimed at measuring photoelectron angular distributions of laser-aligned 1-ethynyl-4-fluorobenzene (C(8)H(5)F) and dissociating, laser-aligned 1,4-dibromobenzene (C(6)H(4)Br(2)) molecules and discuss them in the larger context of photoelectron diffraction on gas-phase molecules. We also show how the strong nanosecond laser pulse used for adiabatically laser-aligning the molecules influences the measured electron and ion spectra and angular distributions, and discuss how this may affect the outcome of future time-resolved photoelectron diffraction experiments.