Modeling of damage dynamics in X-ray free-electron-laser irradiation

As an X-ray free-electron laser (X-FEL) provides extremely strong pulses, it is necessary to understand the photon-induced damage processes for biological samples. A research group led by Dr. Chapman (DESY, Germany and Lawrence Livermore National Lab, USA) has discussed how several aspects of existing continuum damage models can be tested during early operation of X-FEL at lower X-ray energies in the range of 0.8-5 keV and low fluences, focusing particularly on macroscopic collective effects such as particle charging, expansion, and average ionization of nanospheres. For more information, see the paper, "Modeling of the damage dynamics of nanospheres exposed to x-ray free-electron-laser radiation", S. P. Hau-Riege et al., Phys. Rev. E77, 041902 (2008).