Laserlab-Europe Newsletter #33: Lasers and the Universe

Laserlab-Europe – bringing together all the required instruments and related expertise – is a unique place to investigate our Universe. Lasers are indeed exceptional tools to explore phenomena occurring in space. Data from laser-based spectroscopy endstations can help researchers to decipher meteorite composition or determine the formation processes of complex molecules under severe interstellar or circumstellar conditions, while high-energy-density laser facilities can recreate deep planet interiors or violent astrophysical events in the lab. Advances in terms of laser intensities, towards 1024 W/cm2, finally open new routes for extreme quantum astrophysics.

• From in silico laser-driven QED cascades to neutron star pair plasmas (IST, Portugal)
• Infrared spectroscopy sheds light on the formation of complex organics in space (FELIX, the Netherlands)
• Boosting meteorite mass spectrometry with lasers (ILC, Slovakia)
• Turning light into matter (CLF, United Kingdom)
• Extreme laboratory astrophysics using high power lasers: from QED effects to gravitational waves (CELIA, France)
• New laser beamline for laboratory planetary science at GSI (Germany)
• Studying supernovae using high-power lasers (LULI, France)

• Twisted nanophotonic technology for integrated chiroptical sensing of drugs on a chip
• Anne L’Huillier, Paul Corkum and Ferenc Krausz awarded with Wolf Prize in Physics 2022
• MPQ: New High-Power CEP-Stable Mid-IR Laser System for XUV spectroscopy
• FELIX free electron laser: extension of the wavelength range realized
• NIREOS receives 1.5m euros grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC)
• In memoriam Professor Algis Petras Piskarskas

Relevance of 2-methylallyl radicals in the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The most widely accepted class of molecules that act as building blocks for soot particles are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which have been marked as priority pollutants due to their carcinogenic potential. Several studies agree on radical-based reactions (open-shell molecules with an unpaired electron) as a crucial step in rapid PAH growth. To gain a better understanding of these reactions, the group of Ingo Fischer and Anouk Rijs investigated the high-temperature chemistry of 2-methylallyl radicals using IR/UV ion dip spectroscopy at the FELIX free electron laser laboratory (Radboud University, Nijmegen, NL), one of the Laserlab-Europe partners.

ERC Advanced Grants for Nathalie Picqué (MPQ) and Olga Smirnova (MBI), Consolidator Grant for Frederico Fiúza (IST) and Starting Grant for Romain Géneaux (LIDYL)

• Joint ELI user programme, integration progress and new Director of Science

• ReMade@ARI: A recycling hub for materials research

Editorial Team: Tracey Burge, Nele Holemans, Ramona Landgraf, Julia Michel, Daniela Stozno

office@laserlab-europe.eu