SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

SLAC and Stanford scientists home in on pairs of atoms that boost a catalyst’s activity

June 22, 2020 sarah Jonas Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis

A study identified which pairs of atoms in a catalyst nanoparticle are most active in a reaction that breaks down a harmful exhaust gas in catalytic converters. The results are a step toward engineering cheaper, more efficient catalysts.

Research Results

Scientists marry two powerful techniques to pinpoint locations of individual molecules in their cellular neighborhoods

June 8, 2020 sarah Jonas fluorescence imaging, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University

Developed in the lab of Stanford University Nobelist W.E. Moerner, the technique combines cryoelectron tomography and low temperature single-molecule microscopy. It has potential to answer fundamental questions about the molecular machinery of viruses, parasites, and processes like photosynthesis.

Research Results

In a step forward for orbitronics, scientists break the link between a quantum material’s spin and orbital states

May 15, 2020 sarah Jonas Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, ultrafast science

Until now, electron spins and orbitals were thought to go hand in hand in a class of materials that’s the cornerstone of modern information technology; you couldn’t quickly change one without changing the other. This study raises the possibility of controlling them separately.

Research Results

First direct look at how light excites electrons to kick off a chemical reaction

May 1, 2020 sarah Jonas Chemical Reactions, Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, ultrafast science, X-ray science

The first step in many light-driven chemical reactions, like the ones that power photosynthesis and human vision, is a shift in the arrangement of a molecule’s electrons as they absorb the light’s energy. Now scientists have directly observed this first step.

Research Results

A new machine learning method streamlines particle accelerator operations

April 29, 2020 sarah Jonas Machine Learning, particle accelerator, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

SLAC researchers have developed a new tool, using machine learning, that may make part of the accelerator tuning process five times faster compared to previous methods.

Feature

SLAC joins the global fight against COVID-19

April 17, 2020 sarah Jonas Coronavirus, coronavirus testing, cryo-electron microscopy, Drug Development, Machine Learning, N95 masks, Slac, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Structural Biology, x-ray crystallography, X-ray scattering

The lab is responding to the coronavirus crisis by imaging disease-related biomolecules, developing standards for reliable coronavirus testing and enabling other essential research.

Research Results

A new way to fine-tune exotic materials: Thin, stretch and clamp

April 2, 2020 sarah Jonas Materials Science, quantum materials, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University

Turning a brittle oxide into a flexible membrane and stretching it on a tiny apparatus flipped it from a conducting to an insulating state and changed its magnetic properties. The technique can be used to study and design a broad range of materials for use in things like sensors and detectors.

Research Results

An advance in molecular moviemaking reveals the subtle, complex ways a simple molecule can shimmy and fly apart

March 18, 2020 sarah Jonas Linac Coherent Light Source, molecular movies, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, XFELs

Researchers observed atomic nuclei moving over distances of less than an angstrom in less than a trillionth of a second — a level of resolution that can only be achieved with an X-ray free-electron laser.

Research Results

Terahertz radiation technique opens a new door for studying atomic behavior

March 5, 2020 sarah Jonas accelerator physics, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have made a promising new advance for the lab’s high-speed “electron camera” that could allow them to “film” tiny, ultrafast motions of protons and electrons in chemical reactions that have never been seen before.

Research Results

Radio waves detect particle showers in a block of plastic

February 25, 2020 sarah Jonas SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

A cheap technique could detect neutrinos in polar ice, eventually allowing researchers to expand the energy reach of IceCube without breaking the bank.

Research Results

Researchers show how electric fields affect a molecular twist within light-sensitive proteins

February 12, 2020 sarah Jonas SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University

A team of scientists from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University has gained insight into how electric fields affect the way energy from light drives molecular motion and transformation in a protein commonly used in biological imaging.

Research Results

How iron carbenes store energy from sunlight – and why they aren’t better at it

February 6, 2020 sarah Jonas SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Photosensitizers are molecules that absorb sunlight and pass that energy along to generate electricity or drive chemical reactions. A SLAC study looked at how an inexpensive photosensitizer, iron carbene, stores energy from sunlight, and why it’s not better at its job.

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