Which Electron is Quicker? - Featured in Nature!

Fig 1 of Paper — Figure 1 from the Nature Article.

Attosecond technique of electron release delay — Image: Gregory M. Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Physicists shine new light on ultra-fast atomic processes

In an article published in the August 21, 2024 issue of Nature, an international collaboration of scientists which included the groups of Lou DiMauro (Dir. of Inst. for Optical Science) and Alexandra Landsman from the OSU Physics Department have measured a delay in the release of electrons between two ends of the same simple molecule, NO. The measurement uses attosecond techniques developed within the Agostini/DiMauro group coupled to the x-ray free electron laser at SLAC National Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA.