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Hart, Philip

Publications and source records attributed to Hart, Philip.

27 records · Page 2

The Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography Instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source

The Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is the seventh and newest instrument at the world's first hard X-ray free-electron laser. It was designed with a primary focus on structural biology, employing the ultrafast pulses of X-rays from LCLS at atmospheric conditions to overcome radiation damage limitations in biological measurements. It is also capable of performing various time-resolved measurements. The MFX design consists of a versatile base system capable of supporting multiple methods, techniques and experimental endstations. The primary techniques supported are forward scattering and crystallography, with capabilities for various spectroscopic methods and time-resolved measurements. The location of the MFX instrument allows for utilization of multiplexing methods, increasing user access to LCLS by running multiple experiments simultaneously.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

Coherent X-rays reveal the influence of cage effects on ultrafast water dynamics

Here, the dynamics of liquid water feature a variety of time scales, ranging from extremely fast ballistic-like thermal motion, to slower molecular diffusion and hydrogen-bond rearrangements. Here, we utilize coherent X-ray pulses to investigate the sub-100 fs equilibrium dynamics of water from ambient conditions down to supercooled temperatures. This novel approach utilizes the inherent capability of X-ray speckle visibility spectroscopy to measure equilibrium intermolecular dynamics with lengthscale selectivity, by measuring oxygen motion in momentum space. The observed decay of the speckle contrast at the first diffraction peak, which reflects tetrahedral coordination, is attributed to motion on a molecular scale within the first 120 fs. Through comparison with molecular dynamics simulations, we conclude that the slowing down upon cooling from 328 K down to 253 K is not due to simple thermal ballistic-like motion, but that cage effects play an important role even on timescales over 25 fs due to hydrogen-bonding.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Coherent soft X-ray diffraction imaging of coliphage PR772 at the Linac coherent light source

Single-particle diffraction from X-ray Free Electron Lasers offers the potential for molecular structure determination without the need for crystallization. In an effort to further develop the technique, we present a dataset of coherent soft X-ray diffraction images of Coliphage PR772 virus, collected at the Atomic Molecular Optics (AMO) beamline with pnCCD detectors in the LAMP instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source. The diameter of PR772 ranges from 65–70 nm, which is considerably smaller than the previously reported ~600 nm diameter Mimivirus. This reflects continued progress in XFEL-based single-particle imaging towards the single molecular imaging regime. As a result, the data set contains significantly more single particle hits than collected in previous experiments, enabling the development of improved statistical analysis, reconstruction algorithms, and quantitative metrics to determine resolution and self-consistency.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

High-resolution Seismic Imaging of Depositional Characteristics at Gas Hydrate Research Sites in the Gulf of Mexico

High-resolution seismic data acquired by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with support from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in 2013 at two geologically distinct study sites in the offshore Gulf of Mexico basin provide an opportunity for detailed characterization and for comparison of the depositional settings of sediments that host high concentrations of gas hydrate at each site. Gas hydrate exists at Green Canyon Block 955 (GC955) within sand layers deposited in a proximal marine channel-levee setting, whereas at Walker Ridge Block 313 (WR313) gas hydrate deposits occur within thin distal levees and sheet sands deposited in a mini-basin environment. A refined understanding of the depositional environment at these sites in turn provides valuable insights regarding reservoir characteristics and controls on gas hydrate occurrence.

Haines, Seth↗

X-ray detectors at the Linac Coherent Light Source

Free-electron lasers (FELs) present new challenges for camera development compared with conventional light sources. At SLAC a variety of technologies are being used to match the demands of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and to support a wide range of scientific applications. In this paper an overview of X-ray detector design requirements at FELs is presented and the various cameras in use at SLAC are described for the benefit of users planning experiments or analysts looking at data. Features and operation of the CSPAD camera, which is currently deployed at LCLS, are discussed, and the ePix family, a new generation of cameras under development at SLAC, is introduced.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Energy-dispersive X-ray emission spectroscopy using an X-ray free-electron laser in a shot-by-shot mode

The ultrabright femtosecond X-ray pulses provided by X-ray free-electron lasers open capabilities for studying the structure and dynamics of a wide variety of systems beyond what is possible with synchrotron sources. Recently, this “probe-before-destroy” approach has been demonstrated for atomic structure determination by serial X-ray diffraction of microcrystals. There has been the question whether a similar approach can be extended to probe the local electronic structure by X-ray spectroscopy. To address this, we have carried out femtosecond X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) at the Linac Coherent Light Source using redox-active Mn complexes. XES probes the charge and spin states as well as the ligand environment, critical for understanding the functional role of redox-active metal sites. Kβ 1,3 XES spectra of Mn II and Mn 2 III,IV complexes at room temperature were collected using a wavelength dispersive spectrometer and femtosecond X-ray pulses with an individual dose of up to >100 MGy. The spectra were found in agreement with undamaged spectra collected at low dose using synchrotron radiation. Our results demonstrate that the intact electronic structure of redox active transition metal compounds in different oxidation states can be characterized with this shot-by-shot method. This opens the door for studying the chemical dynamics of metal catalytic sites by following reactions under functional conditions. Furthermore, the technique can be combined with X-ray diffraction to simultaneously obtain the geometric structure of the overall protein and the local chemistry of active metal sites and is expected to prove valuable for understanding the mechanism of important metalloproteins, such as photosystem II.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗