Professor Alexandra Landsman's DOE Grant, Attosecond Physics with XFEL pulses, has been successfully renewed for the amount of $465K.

Abstract: Attosecond physics uses ultrashort flashes of light to observe the motion of electrons inside matter.  The natural time-scale of this electron motion is attoseconds or 10^-18seconds.  Hence, one attosecond is to a second what a second is to the age of the universe (roughly). Experimental and theoretical developments in attosecond physics have culminated in a 2023 Nobel Prize. Nevertheless, further advances have been limited by the low intensity of attosecond pulses, which were produced by table-top lasers. New developments allow for tunable isolated attosecond X-ray pulses using X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). These high frequency pulses have intensities millions of times greater than any other existing attosecond sources.  This provides access to new physics, making inner-core electron dynamics accessible and pushing the study of strong field interaction into the X-ray regime.  The objectives of this research are to develop a theoretical framework to interpret and guide experiments using these new attosecond XFEL sources, like the recent measurements at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.  The aim is to help lead attosecond physics into the new frontier of high intensity radiation-matter interaction. This research is in line with the priorities of the DOE Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Sciences (AMOS) program, which places emphasis on interaction of intense ultrafast x-ray pulses with matter, and encourages joint experimental and theoretical efforts.

This is a continuation of the type of work recently discussed in this Ohio State News article.

Congratulations, Professor Landsman!