International conference QENS 2016 and Workshop WINS 2016 in Potsdam
Participants of QENS 2016 and WINS 2016
From 5th to 9th of September HZB has hosted two international scientific events dedicated to the study of the dynamics at nanoscale, QENS and WINS 2016. While Quasielastic Neutron scattering conference (QENS 2016) was dedicated to the scientific applications, international Workshop on Inelastic spectrometers WINS 2016 allowed to touch on the instrumental aspects. 108 scientists from all over the world participated in these events organized in the heart of the Potsdam.
For the first time in the history of QENS the conference was focused on the exploration of materials for energy and information technology applications. Modeling, either to deeper understanding of experimental data, or in the prediction of new materials and phenomena was integral part of the programme. A special session will be dedicated to water. “Very nice program, perfect organization and all this in such a nice place!” summarized Jean-Marc Zanotti from Saclay, France.
- Superconducting TES array X-ray spectrometer goes into operation at BESSY IIEurope's first and only TES-spectrometer at a synchrotron source is now in operation at BESSY II, developed within a collaboration between the HZB, the MPI-CEC (Mühlheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany) and the NIST (Boulder CO, USA). The photon detection efficiency of the new instrument exceeds that of wavelength-dispersive X-ray emission spectrometers by a factor of 100 to 1000. It will be used to investigate the electronic properties of atomically thin layers, nanostructures and highly diluted atomic and molecular samples. The team is looking forward to receiving exciting research proposals from the user community.
- X-ray analysis reveals overpainted fascist symbolsErich Mercker was a successful painter during the Nazi era and in the years that followed. After 1945, he covered up Nazi symbols in at least one of his paintings. With an interdisciplinary team, physicist Dr Ioanna Mantouvalou reports on this study in the Nature Journal Heritage Science.
- Magnon momentum microscopy: A new window into nanoscale spin-wavesAn international team lead by the Max Born Institute has developed a new type of momentum microscopy to image magnons — the quanta of collectively excited spins — directly in two-dimensional reciprocal space using soft X-rays. Measurements have taken place at BESSY II and PETRA III, first author ist the HZB physicist Steffen Wittrock. Owing to its remarkable sensitivity, simplicity, and access to nanometer-scale wavelengths, this novel technique establishes a powerful and versatile platform for exploring nonlinear magnon interactions, which are promising for future computing schemes.