at the European XFEL.
The 91探花 Centre for High Energy Density Science (OxCHEDS) has led the first ever experiment on the newly-commissioned High Energy Density Science end-station at the European XFEL. Professor was joint PI, and he, , AWE academic visitor Andy Comley, and 91探花 students and postdocs were part of the team that included collaborators from SLAC, LLNL, and XFEL.
This first experiment used the high brightness x-ray beam on its own (the high-power optical lasers are still to be commissioned, with the UK 100-J 10-Hz DiPOLE system being delivered later this year).
The first experiment used highly monochromatic x-rays to scatter from targets to measure the change in x-ray energies when phonons are created and destroyed - a technique that could ultimately lead to the direct measurement of temperature of matter under shock or ramp compression. The experiment took place over five 12-hour shifts from the 15th-19th May, and, apart from a few minor teething problems, was a huge success. OxCHEDS Director Professor Justin Wark said 鈥淚t was a real privilege to be part of the first HED experiment at XFEL. This is something the HED community has been working towards for more than a decade, and the future capabilities to perform experiments combining high repetition rate high power optical lasers and the brightest x-ray source on the planet is going to be revolutionary for the field鈥.
Andy Comley said following the campaign 鈥楾he new European XFEL is a world-leading facility and promises to return high-quality data at unprecedented repetition rates. It was a privilege to be involved in the first HED experiment with our academic and US colleagues and we look forward to the exciting discoveries anticipated in the near future.鈥