Worldwide, very few people are able to observe and manipulate processes in atomic nuclei and the electrons surrounding them by using customised lasers.
Andrea Trabattoni is one of them. He is a Helmholtz junior research group leader at DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) and has recently accepted a junior professorship in the field of ultra-fast photoelectron research at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), where he will work with the Ultra-Fast Laser Lab at the Institute of Quantum Optics, a vital element of the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD. "I am delighted that Professor Trabattoni's junior professorship within the scope of the first joint appointment will enable us to work more closely with Leibniz University Hannover", says Edgar Weckert, head of photon research at DESY. This will bring together our joint expertise in this exciting field of research focusing on ultra-fast laser spectroscopy."
The long-term objective of their research activities is to use lasers to control and manipulate electrons in processes connected with atomic nuclei. Atomic nuclei consist of protons and neutrons surrounded by a kind of electron cloud. Together, these two groups form atoms. Electrons are usually located outside of the nucleus. However, there are plenty of natural processes where electrons and nuclei interact and exchange energy. For example, these processes are particularly important in order to track solar activity or in order to produce medical isotopes. We are familiar with these processes, even though we cannot control them", explains Professor Trabattoni. "For some nuclear reactions, we would have to wait a thousand years, or even longer. If we find the right controller, we might be able to steer them within the fraction of a second."
This "controller" is achieved through customised laser light able to mediate the interaction between nuclei and electrons. Currently, Professor Trabattoni and his team investigate this concept in special low-energy electron-nucleus transitions, which can be triggered with conventional lasers. If Professor Trabattoni's research is successful, this could enable future researchers to produce medical isotopes with lasers, to store information in atomic nuclei for quantum computing or even to produce new lasers with gamma-ray photon energy.
