X-Ray/Optical Wave Mixing: Micro-Probing How Light Manipulates Matter

Light-matter interactions are central to many areas of science. Though optical interactions have been heavily studied for well over a century, there is still considerable uncertainty about the microscopic details of how light manipulates matter. The ability to directly probe how, for instance, light catalyzes a chemical reaction is an important scientific frontier. 

It has been known for half a century that x-ray/optical wave mixing provides direct access to the microscopic details of a material's optical response. Initial attempts to observe x-ray/optical sum frequency generation (x/o SFG) failed, presumably due to the low brightness of the available x-ray sources. Novel x-ray sources based on free electron laser technology provide new scientific opportunities for x-ray science, and in particular, are sufficiently bright to allow observation of x-ray/optical sum frequency generation. I will discuss our observation of x/o SFG in diamond at the Linac Coherent Light Source, discuss the implications for our understanding of how light interacts with covalent semiconductors, and comment on the broader portfolio of novel science enabled by x-ray wave mixing spectroscopy.

Speaker: Ernie Glover, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Room 232