The principal goal of this Research Activity is to build and operate an experimental user stations exclusively devoted to challenging applications in molecular, biomedical, and material (MBM) science using the primary photon source in combination with the secondary radiation sources.

Research Activity Description

Major advantage of ELI lies in the fact that it provides a unique opportunity of perfect spatial overlap and temporal synchronization of a fast optical laser beam with multiple beams of ionizing radiation at highest parameters achievable. Such a combination allows to investigate very early stages of photochemical and/or radiation chemical processes inaccessible with current scientific tools. In order to consider the construction of such a large and complex facility such as ELI, it necessary to demonstrate that such a facility will answer most pressing scientific questions the near future. There are several great challenges in molecular, biomedical, and material sciences (MBM sciences) of 21st century:

1. Measuring the mechanisms of physical and chemical processes at the atomic scale.
2. Controlling electronic processes in matter. In addition to that, nuclear dynamics following the electronic events should represent a subject of control.
3. Understanding the complexity – efficient methods should be developed to control and investigate various processes in real, i.e., highly complex, systems in the state as they are present in nature.
4. Nanometre scale imaging of arbitrary objects in their native state, e.g., capturing a living cell at nanometre resolution. Nanometrically resolved dynamics of their responses to various stimuli.

ELI facility will provide numerous powerful tools allowing efficient in the above-mentioned areas. First of all, temporal scales of particular molecular processes are matched to ELI pulse durations. Looking at electron dynamics requires resolution better than 1 fs; nuclear dynamics (molecular vibrations, phonon dynamics) have characteristic times in ~ 10 fs; intramolecular dynamics in large molecules take times > 1 ps and only molecular fragmentation, real chemical change, radiative transitions in molecules (fluorescence) occur at longer time scales.
At MBM stations intended to be built and operated at ELI, following main layouts will be constructed, commissioned, and utilized in molecular, biomedical and materials research:

1. the pulse radiolysis device with sub-ps resolution should be based on a combination of ELI-driven particle (i.e. electron, proton, highly charged ions) and/or energetic photon beam and properly delayed portion of the primary ELI beam for analysis of particle-generated transients,
2. ELI-driven electron beam will serve in the time-resolved electron diffraction apparatus; timing with a portion of the ELI optical beam allow to investigate structural changes in photo-transforming systems,
3. coherent XUV/x-ray sources operated at ELI will be used for diffractive imaging of various objects, from single molecules to living cells; timing the short-wavelength beam with the long-wavelength one offers a possibility to investigate a fast response of the investigated system to high fluxes of low-energy photons, and
4. ELI-drive short-wavelength sources allow looking also at spatio-temporal momentum patterns of photo-electrons and secondary electrons; this layout may provide important information on fast electronic and structural dynamics of highly energized molecular and supra-molecular systems. Coupling the short- and long-wavelength laser fields allows to clock the system on the very fine time scale (optical streak camera with ultra-high temporal resolution will be developed).

Numerous particular problems, both technological and scientific, being solved within this Research Activity will be of interest for High-tech industries:

1. Better knowledge on early stages of radiation processes occurring on solid surfaces of various materials can be used for an optimization of industrial radiation processing.
2. Ultra-high emittance beams of charged particles driven by ELI and above mentioned probe techniques will serve for both development and optimized use of compact particle sources for possible further use in radiation therapy of cancer.
3. The ultra-short pulses carrying an enormous number of energetic particles make it possible to investigate behaviour of complex systems composed of many chemical constituents in several coexisting phases. Such a complex system, e.g., living tissue, polymer composite and/or industrially polluted water represent a typical subject of interest in numerous industrial and biomedical applications.
4. Ultra-fast signal transmission, detection and timing techniques developed for MBM experiments could represent germs for innovative activities, especially in the communications and aerospace industry.
5. Procedures and techniques developed for time-resolved imaging would very likely represent an impulse for further development and upgrades of conventional techniques of biomedical imaging.
6. Last but not least, pharmaceutical industry should represent the most motivated commercial sector absorbing and stimulating RA4 results obtained from layouts looking at elementary molecular processes with femtosecond and sub-nanometer temporal and spatial resolution, respectively.

Main outcomes of the Research Activity

Project ELI takes up a main challenge of current and future molecular, biomedical, and materials sciences. A specialized MBM (molecular, biomedical and material) application stations will be designed and constructed. Thus the original and valuable scientific results should be obtained which have to be published in key impacted scientific journals. In addition to that, numerous procedures, apparatus, layouts, technologies, special skills, etc. will be produced within the project that would very likely attract an attention of high-tech industry. Last but not least, a unique infrastructure will be made available for the worldwide as well as local community of researchers working in molecular, biomedical, and materials sciences.