Speaker
Dr
Olof Jönsson
(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University; Biomedical and X-ray Physics, KTH)
Description
The bright ultrafast pulses of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers allow investigation into the structure of matter under extreme conditions. We have used single pulses to ionize and probe water as it undergoes a phase transition from liquid to plasma. We report changes in the structure of liquid water on a femtosecond timescale when irradiated by single 6.86 keV X-ray pulses of more than 10$^{6}$ J/cm$^2$. These observations are supported by simulations based on molecular dynamics and plasma dynamics of a water system that is rapidly ionized and gets out of equilibrium. This exotic ionic and disordered state at liquid density is suggested to be structurally different from a neutral thermally disordered state.
Primary authors
Dr
Olof Jönsson
(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University; Biomedical and X-ray Physics, KTH)
Dr
Kenneth R. Beyerlein
(Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron)
Dr
Carl Caleman
(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University; Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron)
Dr
Nicusor Timneanu
(Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University)
