From Free Electrons to Bound Electrons: Attosecond Science with X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

Explore the cutting-edge world of attosecond X-ray free-electron lasers in this 58-minute Stanford Physics colloquium. Delve into the physics behind X-ray free-electron lasers and learn about the experimental FEL R&D program at SLAC. Discover how these advanced lasers have broken the femtosecond barrier, enabling time-resolved observations of coherent electronic phenomena with atomic site specificity and unprecedented temporal resolution. Examine the results of attosecond pulse generation and its application in observing coherent electron dynamics in molecules. Gain insights into ongoing R&D efforts towards plasma-based attosecond sources that aim to combine the peak power of XFELs with the fractional bandwidth of state-of-the-art few-cycle lasers.