We present here an application of the recently developed hybrid coupled channels approach to study photo-ionization of noble gas atoms: Neon and Argon. We first compute multi-photon ionization rates and cross-sections for these inert gas atoms with our approach and compare them with reliable data available from R-matrix Floquet theory. The good agreement between coupled channels and R-matrix Floquet theory show that our method treats multi-electron systems on par with the well established R-matrix theory. We then apply the time dependent surface flux (tSURFF) method with our approach to compute total and angle resolved photo-electron spectra from Argon with linearly and circularly polarized 12 nm wavelength laser fields, a typical wavelength available from Free Electron Lasers (FELs)

Linear depolarization ratios in clean air ranges were measured with POLIS-6 at 355 and 532 nm. The mean deviation from the theoretical values, including the rotational Raman lines within the filter bandwidths, amounts to 0.0005 at 355 nm and to 0.0012 at 532 nm. The mean uncertainty of the measured linear depolarization ratio of clean air is about 0.0005 at 355 nm and about 0.0006 at 532 nm.

Linear depolarization ratios in clean air ranges were measured with POLIS-6 at 355 and 532 nm. The mean deviation from the theoretical values, including the rotational Raman lines within the filter bandwidths, amounts to 0.0005 at 355 nm and to 0.0012 at 532 nm. The mean uncertainty of the measured linear depolarization ratio of clean air is about 0.0005 at 355 nm and about 0.0006 at 532 nm.

UV excitation of the DNA single strand (dT)(18) leads to electronically excited states that are potential gateways to DNA photolesions. Using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy we characterized a species with a lifetime of similar to 100 ps and identified it as a charge separated excited state between two thymine bases.

It has been known for about sixty years that proton and heavy ion therapy is a very powerful radiation procedure for treating tumors. It has an innate ability to irradiate tumors with greater doses and spatial selectivity compared with electron and photon therapy and, hence, is a tissue sparing procedure. For more than twenty years, powerful lasers have generated high energy beams of protons and heavy ions and it has, therefore, frequently been speculated that lasers could be used as an alternative to radiofrequency (RF) accelerators to produce the particle beams necessary for cancer therapy. The present paper reviews the progress made towards laser driven hadron cancer therapy and what has still to be accomplished to realize its inherent enormous potential.

Performing far-field microscope polarization spectroscopy and finite element method simulations, we investigated experimentally and theoretically the surface plasmon modes in single Ag nanowire antennas. Our results show that the surface plasmon resonances in the single Ag nanowire antenna can be tuned from the dipole plasmon mode to a higher order plasmon mode, which would result in the emission with different intensities and polarization states, for the semiconductor quantum dots coupled to the nanowire antenna. The fluorescence polarization is changed with different polarized excitation of the 800 nm light beam, while it remains parallel to the Ag nanowire axis at the 400 nm excitation. The 800 nm incident tight interacts nonresonantly with the dipole plasmon mode with the polarized excitation parallel to the Ag nanowire axis, while it excites a higher order plasmon mode with the perpendicular excitation. Under excitation of 400 nm, either the parallel or perpendicular excitation can only result in a dipole plasmon mode. In addition, we demonstrate that the single Ag nanowire antenna can work as an energy concentrator for enhancing the two-photon excited fluorescence of semiconductor quantum dots.

Many problems caused by bacterial biofilms can be traced back to their high resilience towards chemical perturbations and their extraordinary sturdiness towards mechanical forces. However, the molecular mechanisms that link the mechanical properties of a biofilm with the ability of bacteria to survive in different chemical environments remain enigmatic. Here, we study the erosion stability of Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) biofilms in the presence of different chemical environments. We find that these biofilms can utilize the absorption of certain metal ions such as Cu2+, Zn2+, Fe2+, Fe3+ and Al3+ into the biofilm matrix to avoid erosion by shear forces. Interestingly, many of these metal ions are toxic for planktonic B. subtilis bacteria. However, their toxic activity is suppressed when the ions are absorbed into the biofilm matrix. Our experiments clearly demonstrate that the biofilm matrix has to fulfill a dual function, i.e. regulating both the mechanical properties of the biofilm and providing a selective barrier towards toxic chemicals.

The ionization and fragmentation dynamics of iodine molecules (I-2) are traced using very intense (similar to 10(14) W cm(-2)) ultra-short (similar to 60 fs) light pulses with 87 eV photons of the Free-electron LASer at Hamburg (FLASH) in combination with a synchronized femtosecond optical laser. Within a pump-probe scheme the IR pulse initiates a molecular fragmentation and then, after an adjustable time delay, the system is exposed to an intense FEL pulse. This way we follow the creation of highly-charged molecular fragments as a function of time, and probe the dynamics of multi-photon absorption during the transition from a molecule to individual atoms.