New X-ray laser toolkit advances study of nature's mysteries

Photo of James Cryan (right), SLAC senior scientist and TMO instrument lead, and Razib Obaid (left), SLAC staff scientist and MRCO instrument lead, working on the DREAM instrument. In the TMO hutch, SLAC researchers have introduced new and improved instruments, including MRCO and DREAM, to take advantage of the higher repetition rate from the LCLS-II upgrade. | Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Aug 7 2025
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The upgraded LCLS-II at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory significantly enhances X-ray pulse rates, facilitating groundbreaking research into atomic and molecular processes that were previously unattainable. With new instruments like qRIXS and chemRIXS, researchers can now observe rapid phenomena such as superconductivity and photosynthesis in real time, leading to accelerated scientific discovery and a deeper understanding of fundamental natural processes.