Few-femtosecond time resolution in optically pumped hard X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser

Eleanor Weckwerth; Maria Trinidad Castro Duran; Ian Gabalski; Felix Allum; Matthew Bain; Surjendu Bhattacharyya; Christian Brahms; Logan Brenner; Mathew A. Britton; Andrés Moreno Carrascosa; Chuan Cheng; Xinxin Cheng; Stuart W. Crane; Alexandra Fraser; Aaron M. Ghrist; Ching-Chi Hang; Andrew J. Howard; Lisa Huang; Ramesh Jarupula; Brian Kaufman; Adam Kirrander; Eirik M. Liane; Yusong Liu; Haoran Ma; Michael P. Minitti; Sandra Mous; Nicole S. Muir; Alex Narkiewicz-Jodko; Joseph S. Robinson; David J. Romano; Mats Simmermacher; Jacob Stamm; Blanca Teodoro; John C. Travers; Jonathan Tsao; Peter M. Weber; Haowei Wu; Ruaridh Forbes; Haiwang Yong; Philip H. Bucksbaum; Mengning Liang; Kirk A. Larsen

doi:10.1364/optica.587785

Few-femtosecond time resolution in optically pumped hard X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser

Eleanor Weckwerth
, Maria Trinidad Castro Duran
, Ian Gabalski
, Felix Allum
, Matthew Bain
, Surjendu Bhattacharyya
, Christian Brahms
, Logan Brenner
, Mathew A. Britton
, Andrés Moreno Carrascosa
, Chuan Cheng
, Xinxin Cheng
, Stuart W. Crane
, Alexandra Fraser
, Aaron M. Ghrist
, Ching-Chi Hang
, Andrew J. Howard
, Lisa Huang
, Ramesh Jarupula
, Brian Kaufman

Adam Kirrander, Eirik M. Liane, Yusong Liu, Haoran Ma, Michael P. Minitti, Sandra Mous, Nicole S. Muir, Alex Narkiewicz-Jodko, Joseph S. Robinson, David J. Romano, Mats Simmermacher, Jacob Stamm, Blanca Teodoro, John C. Travers, Jonathan Tsao, Peter M. Weber, Haowei Wu, Ruaridh Forbes, Haiwang Yong, Philip H. Bucksbaum, Mengning Liang, Kirk A. Larsen

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Abstract

Capturing chemical dynamics in real time is a central goal of ultrafast science, necessitating measurements fast enough to track atomic motion on few-femtosecond timescales with high precision. We present time-resolved hard X-ray scattering that meets these criteria by combining 7 fs full-width at half maximum (FWHM) near-infrared laser pulses with sub10 fs FWHM hard X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser. Using heavy water’s electronic response to strong-field ionization as a benchmark, we achieve a sub-8 fs FWHM instrument response function. These optical pump X-ray probe measurements enable direct observation of chemical dynamics with angstrom spatial and few-fs temporal resolution.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	863-866
Number of pages	4
Journal	Optica
Volume	13
Issue number	5
Early online date	4 May 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1364/optica.587785
Publication status	Published - 20 May 2026

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Weckwerth, E., Trinidad Castro Duran, M., Gabalski, I., Allum, F., Bain, M., Bhattacharyya, S., Brahms, C., Brenner, L., Britton, M. A., Moreno Carrascosa, A., Cheng, C., Cheng, X., Crane, S. W., Fraser, A., Ghrist, A. M., Hang, C.-C., Howard, A. J., Huang, L., Jarupula, R., ... Larsen, K. A. (2026). Few-femtosecond time resolution in optically pumped hard X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser. Optica, 13(5), 863-866. https://doi.org/10.1364/optica.587785

@article{97b346576399487485ebe7da89ca0c87,

title = "Few-femtosecond time resolution in optically pumped hard X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser",

abstract = "Capturing chemical dynamics in real time is a central goal of ultrafast science, necessitating measurements fast enough to track atomic motion on few-femtosecond timescales with high precision. We present time-resolved hard X-ray scattering that meets these criteria by combining 7 fs full-width at half maximum (FWHM) near-infrared laser pulses with sub10 fs FWHM hard X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser. Using heavy water{\textquoteright}s electronic response to strong-field ionization as a benchmark, we achieve a sub-8 fs FWHM instrument response function. These optical pump X-ray probe measurements enable direct observation of chemical dynamics with angstrom spatial and few-fs temporal resolution.",

author = "Eleanor Weckwerth and \{Trinidad Castro Duran\}, Maria and Ian Gabalski and Felix Allum and Matthew Bain and Surjendu Bhattacharyya and Christian Brahms and Logan Brenner and Britton, \{Mathew A.\} and \{Moreno Carrascosa\}, Andr{\'e}s and Chuan Cheng and Xinxin Cheng and Crane, \{Stuart W.\} and Alexandra Fraser and Ghrist, \{Aaron M.\} and Ching-Chi Hang and Howard, \{Andrew J.\} and Lisa Huang and Ramesh Jarupula and Brian Kaufman and Adam Kirrander and Liane, \{Eirik M.\} and Yusong Liu and Haoran Ma and Minitti, \{Michael P.\} and Sandra Mous and Muir, \{Nicole S.\} and Alex Narkiewicz-Jodko and Robinson, \{Joseph S.\} and Romano, \{David J.\} and Mats Simmermacher and Jacob Stamm and Blanca Teodoro and Travers, \{John C.\} and Jonathan Tsao and Weber, \{Peter M.\} and Haowei Wu and Ruaridh Forbes and Haiwang Yong and Bucksbaum, \{Philip H.\} and Mengning Liang and Larsen, \{Kirk A.\}",

year = "2026",

month = may,

day = "20",

doi = "10.1364/optica.587785",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

pages = "863--866",

journal = "Optica",

issn = "2334-2536",

publisher = "Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA)",

number = "5",

}

Weckwerth, E, Trinidad Castro Duran, M, Gabalski, I, Allum, F, Bain, M, Bhattacharyya, S, Brahms, C, Brenner, L, Britton, MA, Moreno Carrascosa, A, Cheng, C, Cheng, X, Crane, SW, Fraser, A, Ghrist, AM, Hang, C-C, Howard, AJ, Huang, L, Jarupula, R, Kaufman, B, Kirrander, A, Liane, EM, Liu, Y, Ma, H, Minitti, MP, Mous, S, Muir, NS, Narkiewicz-Jodko, A, Robinson, JS, Romano, DJ, Simmermacher, M, Stamm, J, Teodoro, B, Travers, JC, Tsao, J, Weber, PM, Wu, H, Forbes, R, Yong, H, Bucksbaum, PH, Liang, M & Larsen, KA 2026, 'Few-femtosecond time resolution in optically pumped hard X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser', Optica, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 863-866. https://doi.org/10.1364/optica.587785

TY - JOUR

T1 - Few-femtosecond time resolution in optically pumped hard X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser

AU - Weckwerth, Eleanor

AU - Trinidad Castro Duran, Maria

AU - Gabalski, Ian

AU - Allum, Felix

AU - Bain, Matthew

AU - Bhattacharyya, Surjendu

AU - Brahms, Christian

AU - Brenner, Logan

AU - Britton, Mathew A.

AU - Moreno Carrascosa, Andrés

AU - Cheng, Chuan

AU - Cheng, Xinxin

AU - Crane, Stuart W.

AU - Fraser, Alexandra

AU - Ghrist, Aaron M.

AU - Hang, Ching-Chi

AU - Howard, Andrew J.

AU - Huang, Lisa

AU - Jarupula, Ramesh

AU - Kaufman, Brian

AU - Kirrander, Adam

AU - Liane, Eirik M.

AU - Liu, Yusong

AU - Ma, Haoran

AU - Minitti, Michael P.

AU - Mous, Sandra

AU - Muir, Nicole S.

AU - Narkiewicz-Jodko, Alex

AU - Robinson, Joseph S.

AU - Romano, David J.

AU - Simmermacher, Mats

AU - Stamm, Jacob

AU - Teodoro, Blanca

AU - Travers, John C.

AU - Tsao, Jonathan

AU - Weber, Peter M.

AU - Wu, Haowei

AU - Forbes, Ruaridh

AU - Yong, Haiwang

AU - Bucksbaum, Philip H.

AU - Liang, Mengning

AU - Larsen, Kirk A.

PY - 2026/5/20

Y1 - 2026/5/20

N2 - Capturing chemical dynamics in real time is a central goal of ultrafast science, necessitating measurements fast enough to track atomic motion on few-femtosecond timescales with high precision. We present time-resolved hard X-ray scattering that meets these criteria by combining 7 fs full-width at half maximum (FWHM) near-infrared laser pulses with sub10 fs FWHM hard X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser. Using heavy water’s electronic response to strong-field ionization as a benchmark, we achieve a sub-8 fs FWHM instrument response function. These optical pump X-ray probe measurements enable direct observation of chemical dynamics with angstrom spatial and few-fs temporal resolution.

AB - Capturing chemical dynamics in real time is a central goal of ultrafast science, necessitating measurements fast enough to track atomic motion on few-femtosecond timescales with high precision. We present time-resolved hard X-ray scattering that meets these criteria by combining 7 fs full-width at half maximum (FWHM) near-infrared laser pulses with sub10 fs FWHM hard X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser. Using heavy water’s electronic response to strong-field ionization as a benchmark, we achieve a sub-8 fs FWHM instrument response function. These optical pump X-ray probe measurements enable direct observation of chemical dynamics with angstrom spatial and few-fs temporal resolution.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105041298395

U2 - 10.1364/optica.587785

DO - 10.1364/optica.587785

M3 - Letter

SN - 2334-2536

VL - 13

SP - 863

EP - 866

JO - Optica

JF - Optica

IS - 5

ER -

Few-femtosecond time resolution in optically pumped hard X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser

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