Seminars

Room: Seminar Room

Using MRI to Map the Brain

MP Department Seminar by Ioanna Mantouvalou

MP Department Seminar by Christopher Ho

TH-Seminar: Prof. Julia Westermayr

MP Department Seminar by Marissa L. Weichmann

MP Department Seminar by Jana Roithova

MP Department Seminar by Richard A. Wilhelm

Quantum Science and Technologies using Ultracold Molecules

Ultracold molecules have a wide range of applications in quantum science and technologies spanning from fundamental physics to quantum computing and quantum chemistry, and this has sparked great interest in laser cooling of molecules. [more]

MP Department Seminar by Achim Peters

Investigating supercooled water with laser- and X-ray spectroscopy

Water exhibits a variety of anomalies, some of which are particularly pronounced in the supercooled region. Its specific properties and possible structural and dynamical origins have been extensively studied, leading to the still inconclusive theory that water may exist in two structural motifs at low temperatures. [more]

Manoeuvring chemical reactions one degree of freedom at a time

The combined use of electric fields, magnetic fields and laser light affords us an ever-increasing level of control over the properties of atoms and molecules, enabling reactivity to be probed as a function of their various degrees of freedom1. Here, we discuss how electrostatic deflection2,3 can be employed to disentangle the reactivity of molecules in different rotational states4, or with different spatial orientation of their constituent atoms5. [more]

Towards atomic diffraction through single-layer graphene

Using hydrogen atoms with a velocity of up to 120 000 m/s, we predict a high probability of coherently diffracting atoms through the natural lattice of the crystalline gratings. [more]

Will a single two-level atom simultaneously scatter two photons?

The interaction of light with a single two-level emitter is the most fundamental process in quantum optics, and is key to many quantum applications. [more]

Diatomic Molecules: from hot to ultracold

In this talk I will be discussing a new ultracold molecules experiment that I'm setting up at Durham University. Ultracold molecules offer possibilities for a range of applications from controlled chemistry and testing beyond standard model physics, to quantum simulation. In this talk I will focus on what makes cold molecules promising candidates for these applications, and how we are working towards harnessing power this experimentally. [more]

Wet-chemical synthesis and catalytic properties of metal clusters of small atomicity without protecting ligands

Following the Dynamics of Nanoparticle Surfaces in Search of New Catalytic Pathways

Understanding mechanisms of work for a wide range of applied nanomaterials begins with identifying “active units” in operating conditions, zooming in on the “active sites” and ends with a model explaining their role for functioning of the material or device. [more]

Chirality differentiation and manipulation using rotational spectroscopy

Chirality is ubiquitous in nature and involved in many aspects of life, making it an important phenomenon to understand. The enantiomers of chiral molecules have identical physical properties (despite the predicted small contributions due to parity-violating weak interactions), while their chemical and biochemical properties can differ dramatically. Due to these different behaviors, the development of sensitive spectroscopic methods that can differentiate and/or separate molecules of opposite handedness, particularly in complex sample mixtures, are of utmost importance. [more]

Towards State- and Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Trapped Molecular Ions

  • MP Department Seminar
  • Date: Jan 15, 2024
  • Time: 11:00 AM c.t. - 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Jascha Lau
  • Otto-Hahn Awardee of the Biological and Medical Section of the MPG and new Group Leader in the Department of Molcecular Physics
  • Location: Haber Villa
  • Room: Seminar Room
  • Host: Department of Molecular Physics
In this talk, I will give an overview of my postdoctoral and doctoral research, with a particular focus on anion photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as the future research direction of my Otto Hahn Group in the Department of Molecular Physics, which will revolve around fluorescence spectroscopy of trapped molecular ions. [more]

Time-resolved XPS for molecular electronic movies

Light excitation couples to molecular electrons. The conversion of photon energy into other molecular forms of energy is then determined by a complex interplay of electrons and nuclei, which is out of the scope of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. [more]

Ultrafast, all-optical, and highly enantiosensitive imaging of molecular chirality

Just like our hands, chiral molecules exist in pairs of opposite “mirror twins” called enantiomers, which behave identically unless they interact with another chiral “object”. Distinguishing them is vital, e.g. as most biomolecules are chiral, but it can also be a challenging task. [more]
Copper oxide-derived electrocatalysts are reported to have high activity and selectivity for nitrate electrochemical reduction reaction (NO3RR) to ammonia. However, the cause underlying their enhanced NH3 formation, i.e., the active catalytic site, remains unclear. [more]

Efforts of Zhejiang University in advancing clean and sustainable energy conversion

In the presentation, a brief introduction of Zhejiang University (ZJU) and State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization will be given. An overview of China’s achievements, new goals and new measures in alignment with its Nationally Determined Contributions will be presented. [more]

How do chemical bonds break in ultrastrong coupling?

Current efforts for implementing cavity QED in the ultrastrong coupling (USC) regime using molecular vibrations in mid-infrared nanoresonators opens exciting opportunities for exploring novel chemical reactivities that exploit quantum correlations with the electromagnetic vacuum at room temperature. [more]

Watching Femtosecond Molecular Dynamics using Synchrotrons and X-Ray Free-Electron Lasers

Recording real-time movies of dynamical processes in molecules, as, for example, progressing chemical reactions, has been a driving force for many disciplines in fundamental sciences during the last decades. Comparably new are experimental techniques, that address single molecules in the gas phase and that involve coincident single-particle detection for imaging these dynamics are Coulomb explosion imaging and Photoelectron diffraction imaging. [more]

Superradiance in waveguide-coupled atomic ensembles

The power of the light emitted by a single, excited quantum emitter features a characteristic exponential decay. However, the presence of other, identical emitters can substantially alter the decay dynamics of the ensemble. Such collectively enhanced emission is termed superradiance, and has seen increased interest over the last decade due to its potential applications in quantum technology and metrology. [more]

From Heavy Elements to Peptides: Dynamics, Kinetics, and Thermochemistry

In this presentation, I will review recent studies that utilize guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometry to examine the kinetic energy dependence of ion-molecule reactions. [more]

2D Silicates from Ultimate Membranes to Robust Ferromagnets

Silica deposited onto late transition metal surfaces spontaneously forms a 2D van der Waals structure constructed of mirror image planes of rings of corner sharing SiO4 tetrahedra with crystalline and amorphous polymorphs possible. The silica can be deposited by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, opening the door to applications. [more]

Rovibronic Transitions in Molecules: Toward an Exact Approach

Molecules exhibit complex structural and dynamical behavior manifested in their degrees of freedom. The common approach to help us understand this complexity is to start with a zero-order approximation. Beyond the zero-order picture, the voyage to explore the molecular world is just about to begin. [more]

Electrochemical surface science of platinum electrodes

This talk will discuss recent insights into the electrochemistry of platinum, highlighting three topics. [more]

Vibrational Circular Dichroism of Molecular Crystals: The Interplay of Symmetry and Chirality

Chiroptical spectroscopy provides an increasingly important, cost-effective alternative for the study of chiral substances in the solid state. In recent years, vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) – the chiral form of IR absorption spectroscopy – has come into focus as a very sensitive probe of molecular conformation and environment. [more]

Single photon hot electron ionization of fullerenes

The separation of the time scales of electronic and nuclear motion in clusters and molecules opens the possibility that the electrons can form a transient and highly excited subsystem coexisting with cold nuclear degrees of freedom. [more]

A new experiment to measure parity violation in trapped chiral molecular ions

The weak force is predicted to give rise to slightly different structures for left and right-handed chiral molecules, contrary to the common conception that enantiomers are perfect mirror images. [more]

An Experiment to Measure the Electron's Electric Dipole Moment Using an Ultracold Beam of YbF Molecules

The fact that more matter than antimatter has been produced in the early stages of the universe is unexplained and known as the matter-antimatter-asymmetry problem [1]. One precondition is the combined violation of charge conjugation and parity (CP-violation) which is too small in the Standard Model. In almost all theories, CP-violation is also a precondition for the electron to have an electric dipole moment (de). [more]

THz SASE and seeded FEL based on high brightness photo injector PITZ

The Photo Injector Test Facility at DESY in Zeuthen (PITZ) develops a prototype of an accelerator-based high-power tunable THz source for pump-probe experiments at the European XFEL. [more]

Laser spectroscopy of radioactive atoms and molecules at CRIS-ISOLDE

MP Seminar
Precision experiments based on heavy and polar diatomic molecules have been proposed as a promising pathway to pin down the level of fundamental-symmetry violations in the Universe. [more]

Ultrafast molecular chirality: a topological connection

I will describe our very recent results on marrying chiral and topological properties in ultrafast electronic response of chiral molecules in gas phase and show that it brings such benefits as new highly efficient (not relying on interaction with magnetic field) and robust chiral observables, in contrast to standard chiroptical methods. [more]

Pathways to Enhance Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Identified Through Multi-Scale Modeling Pathways to Enhance Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Identified Through Multi-Scale Modeling

Multi-physical transport processes on multiple scales are occurring in electrochemical devices and components for CO2 electroreduction. These coupled transport processes determine the local environment in the catalyst layer and subsequently also the reaction rates at the catalytic sites. [more]

Four short presentations around the topic ISSP

Dr. Adris Anspoks: Short overview about ISSP // Dr. Aleksejs Kuzmins: X-ray absorption spectroscopy // Dr. Anatolijs Šarakovskis: overview about their activities in spectroscopy // Dr. Gints Kučinskis: Electrochemistry & batteries [more]

In situ studies of Cu catalysed CO2 electroreduction bysoft X-ray STXM and spectro-ptychography

Soft X-ray scanning transmission microscopy (STXM) is a powerful tool for nanoscale materials analysis. [more]

Surprising Elements of Light

Light-driven chemical reactions power all life on earth and photochemistry has been intensely studied for more than a century, but light continues to provide surprising possibilities in driving and monitoring chemical reactions. [more]

Bridging scales from surface science to atmospheric chemistry and climate

Joint Seminar of AC and Theory
The development of ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has from the beginning been motivated and justified by the context of atmospheric sciences, apart from other areas of fundamental and applied surface science. This has come in parallel with the recognition of important surface catalyzed processes in the stratosphere that are essential in ozone destruction. [more]

Quantum control of ultracold ion-atom collisions

Hybrid systems of laser-cooled trapped ions and ultracold atoms combined in a single experimental setup have recently emerged as a new platform for fundamental research in quantum physics and chemistry [1]. Reaching the ultracold s-wave quantum regime has been one of the most critical challenges in this field for a long time. Unfortunately, the lowest attainable temperatures in experiments using the Paul ion trap are limited by the possible rf-field-induced heating related to the micromotion. [more]

Operando SXRD/XAS studies of CoOx epitaxial thin films for OER electrocatalysis

Cobalt oxides are among the best earth abundant catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline and neutral electrolytes. We have undertaken operando studies of two dimensional epitaxial cobalt oxide films [1-2] to gain insights into some questions that remain in debate. [more]

Understanding the Birth of the Catalyst during Pyrolysis Using Synchrotron X-rays

Transition metal-nitrogen-carbon materials (M-N-C catalysts) are promising electrocatalysts in electrochemical applications. High temperature treatment in inert environment (pyrolysis) is the most common method for the synthesis of M-N-C catalysts and critical to achieve high electrocatalyst activity and electronic conductivity. [more]

New Generation of Atomically Dispersed Electrocatalysts

Platinum Group Metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts have been extensively developed for both Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) and Alkaline Exchange Membrane (AEM) fuel cells aiming automotive, stationary and portable applications. In this lecture we will address the critical challenges that our team has faced on the way to practical application of such catalysts. [more]
Fluxionality, or the presence of and interconversion between multiple possible energetic configurations, is vital for understanding a catalyst as it operates under actual reaction conditions. [more]

Chemical challenges facing scalable hydrogen production with alkaline membrane electrolyzers

Commercialized membrane electrolyzers use acidic proton exchange membranes (PEMs). These systems offer high performance but require the use of expensive precious-metal catalysts such as IrO2 and Pt that are nominally stable under the locally acidic conditions of the ionomer. [more]

Dynamic catalytic interfaces: ensembles of metastable states break the rules of catalysis

I will show that dynamic catalytic interfaces exhibit great structural fluxionality in conditions of catalysis, and populate many distinct structural and stoichiometric states, which form a statistical ensemble. [more]
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is often considered the best way to experimentally determine the ground-state electronic structure of materials. However, although applying ARPES to short-lived excited states via the pump/probe method (tr-ARPES) demands orders of magnitude more data than ground-state ARPES studies, measurements have been forced to work with orders of magnitude lower data rates due to the limits imposed by the repetition rate of available short-pulse extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) light sources and the collection efficiency of photoelectron analyzers. [more]

Quantum sensor networks as exotic field telescopes for multi-messenger astronomy

Multi-messenger astronomy, the coordinated observation of different classes of signals originating from the same astrophysical event, provides a wealth of information about astrophysical processes with far-reaching implications. [more]

Establishing a New Canadian IR-FEL Program of Research

The Canadian research community is planning to create a new national program for IR-FEL-based research. [more]
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