Robert Loetzsch

Linear polarization analysis of hard x-rays is employed to probe electronic anisotropies in metal-containing complexes with high selectivity. We use polarization-resolved nuclear forward scattering (PR-NFS) of synchrotron radiation at the 14.4 keV nuclear resonance of Fe 57 to determine electric field gradients (EFGs) in an iron(II) spin-crossover compound as they evolve during a temperature-dependent high-spin/low-spin transition. A pair of crossed Si(840) channel-cut crystals provides a high-purity x-ray polarimeter that suppresses the nonresonant background by nearly nine orders of magnitude and enables selective detection of nuclear resonant σ → π scattering. Using the spin-crossover complex Fe(PM-BiA) 2 ( NCS ) 2 as a model system, we determine the orientation of the EFG tensor in the high-spin and low-spin states and follow its reorientation across the gradual thermally driven spin transition. By choosing suitable sample orientations, the polarization selectivity enhances the signal of a high-spin minority fraction of a few percent at low temperature. It reveals that the high-spin EFG at 120 K is not randomly distributed and does not align with the dominant low-spin EFG when these high-spin centers form a minority phase embedded in a low-spin matrix. The combination of PR-NFS with dynamical NFS simulations and density-functional calculations thus provides a sensitive, element- and site-selective method to quantify electronic anisotropies and their changes across phase transitions in Mössbauer-active metal compounds.

Long-lived hot and dense plasmas generated by ultra-intense laser beams are of critical importance for laser-driven nuclear physics, bright hard X-ray sources, and laboratory astrophysics. We report the experimental observation of plasmas with nanosecond-scale lifetimes, near-solid density, and keV-level temperatures, produced by irradiating periodic arrays of composite nanowires with ultra-high-contrast relativistically intense femtosecond laser pulses. Jet-like plasma structures extending up to 1 mm from the nanowire surface were observed, emitting K-shell radiation from He-like Ti20+ ions. High-resolution X-ray spectra have been analyzed using 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the laser–plasma interaction combined with collisional–radiative modeling (FLYCHK). The results indicate that the jets consist of plasma with densities of 1020–1022 cm−3 and keV-scale temperatures, persisting for several nanoseconds. We attribute the formation of these jets to the generation of kilotesla-scale global magnetic fields during the laser interaction, as predicted by PIC simulations. These fields may drive long-timescale current instabilities that sustain magnetic fields of several hundred tesla, sufficient to confine hot, dense plasma over nanosecond durations.

Quantum electrodynamics (QED), the quantum field theory that describes the interaction between light and matter, is commonly regarded as the best-tested quantum theory in modern physics. However, this claim is mostly based on extremely precise studies performed in the domain of relatively low field strengths and light atoms and ions^1–6. In the realm of very strong electromagnetic fields such as in the heaviest highly charged ions (with nuclear charge Z ≫ 1), QED calculations enter a qualitatively different, non-perturbative regime. Yet, the corresponding experimental studies are very challenging, and theoretical predictions are only partially tested. Here we present an experiment sensitive to higher-order QED effects and electron–electron interactions in the high-Z regime. This is achieved by using a multi-reference method based on Doppler-tuned X-ray emission from stored relativistic uranium ions with different charge states. The energy of the 1s_1/22p_3/2 J = 2 → 1s_1/22s_1/2 J = 1 intrashell transition in the heaviest two-electron ion (U⁹⁰⁺) is obtained with an accuracy of 37 ppm. Furthermore, a comparison of uranium ions with different numbers of bound electrons enables us to disentangle and to test separately the one-electron higher-order QED effects and the bound electron–electron interaction terms without the uncertainty related to the nuclear radius. Moreover, our experimental result can discriminate between several state-of-the-art theoretical approaches and provides an important benchmark for calculations in the strong-field domain.

Dichroism is one of the most important optical effects in both the visible and the X-ray range. Besides absorption, scattering can also contribute to dichroism. This paper demonstrates that, based on the example of polyimide, materials can show tiny dichroism even far from electronic resonances due to scattering. Although the effect is small, it can lead to a measurable polarization change and might have influence on highly sensitive polarimetric experiments.

We developed a detection scheme, capable of measuring X-ray line shape of tracer ions in μm thick layers at the rear side of a target foil irradiated by ultra intense laser pulses. We performed simulations of the effect of strong electric fields on the K-shell emission of silicon and developed a spectrometer dedicated to record this emission. The combination of a cylindrically bent crystal in von Hámos geometry and a CCD camera with its single photon counting capability allows for a high dynamic range of the instrument and background free spectra. This approach will be used in future experiments to study electric fields of the order of TV/m at high density plasmas close to solid density.