PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
Generation of 10-TW Attosecond X-Ray Pulses in a Free Electron Laser
Abstract
Attosecond pulses provide direct access to electron dynamics in atoms, molecules, and solids on their natural timescales. While table-top sources have achieved attosecond pulse durations at moderate intensities, extending attosecond science to high peak powers in the x-ray regime requires free-electron lasers (FELs). Here we report the generation of soft-x-ray pulses with a duration of ∼ 100 as and peak power on the order of 10 TW at the European XFEL. The unprecedented combination of pulse duration and peak power is enabled by operation of a soft-x-ray undulator at high electron energy together with five-stage bunch compression, producing ultrahigh peak currents. These millijoule-level attosecond x-ray pulses establish a new regime for attosecond science.
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BibTeX
@misc{schneidmiller2026generation,
title = {{Generation of 10-TW Attosecond X-Ray Pulses in a Free Electron Laser}},
author = {E. A. Schneidmiller and S. Serkez and I. Zagorodnov and N. Gerasimova and M. Scholz and N. Golubeva and M. Guetg and G. Geloni and S. Karabekyan and F. Sottocorona and A. Trebushinin and G. Perosa and S. Tomin and F. Mayet and Th. Maltezopoulos and J. Gruenert and J. Laksman and H. Ahmadi Rashtabadi and T. M. Baumann and R. Boll and F. Calegari and G. Catacchio and S. Dold and D. E. Ferreira de Lima and L. Funke and W. Helml and M. Ilchen and T. Mazza and M. Meyer and T. Mullins and M. Robinson and S. Savio and K. Scharei and Ph. Schmidt and A. Thiel and S. Usenko and L. Wuelfing and W. Decking},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.31534},
eprint = {2609.31534},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31534},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Generation of 10-TW Attosecond X-Ray Pulses in a Free Electron Laser
AU - E. A. Schneidmiller
AU - S. Serkez
AU - I. Zagorodnov
AU - N. Gerasimova
AU - M. Scholz
AU - N. Golubeva
AU - M. Guetg
AU - G. Geloni
AU - S. Karabekyan
AU - F. Sottocorona
AU - A. Trebushinin
AU - G. Perosa
AU - S. Tomin
AU - F. Mayet
AU - Th. Maltezopoulos
AU - J. Gruenert
AU - J. Laksman
AU - H. Ahmadi Rashtabadi
AU - T. M. Baumann
AU - R. Boll
AU - F. Calegari
AU - G. Catacchio
AU - S. Dold
AU - D. E. Ferreira de Lima
AU - L. Funke
AU - W. Helml
AU - M. Ilchen
AU - T. Mazza
AU - M. Meyer
AU - T. Mullins
AU - M. Robinson
AU - S. Savio
AU - K. Scharei
AU - Ph. Schmidt
AU - A. Thiel
AU - S. Usenko
AU - L. Wuelfing
AU - W. Decking
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.31534
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31534
AB - Attosecond pulses provide direct access to electron dynamics in atoms, molecules, and solids on their natural timescales. While table-top sources have achieved attosecond pulse durations at moderate intensities, extending attosecond science to high peak powers in the x-ray regime requires free-electron lasers (FELs). Here we report the generation of soft-x-ray pulses with a duration of ∼ 100 as and peak power on the order of 10 TW at the European XFEL. The unprecedented combination of pulse duration and peak power is enabled by operation of a soft-x-ray undulator at high electron energy together with five-stage bunch compression, producing ultrahigh peak currents. These millijoule-level attosecond x-ray pulses establish a new regime for attosecond science.
ER -