Generation of high-fluence and high-intensity hard x-ray attosecond pulses at European XFEL
arXiv:2607.26505
The paper reports the generation of nanofocused hard‑x‑ray attosecond pulses at the European XFEL with peak intensities around 10^20 W/cm², verified via saturation of amplified spontaneous emission from copper.
Abstract
By combining hard x-ray attosecond pulses from the European XFEL with total-reflection focusing x-ray optics, we generated nanofocused hard x-ray attosecond pulses with intensities and fluences comparable to the highest values attained in the hard x-ray regime. A peak intensity on the order of 10 W/cm is confirmed through the observation of saturation in amplified spontaneous emission from copper atoms. These x-ray pulses enable new scientific opportunities, including the exploration of higher-order nonlinear light--matter interactions, damage-free structure determination, and coherent control of atoms and molecules.