discovered_01_2015 - Laboratory of the Extremes

discovered 01 .15 PANORAMA WWW.HZDR.DE Exploiting innovative potential In order to improve the competitiveness of the European raw materials sector, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) tasked an international consortium in December 2014 with developing a so- called ‘Knowledge and Innovation Community’ on Raw Materials. HZDR is responsible for coordinating the partnership together with the Fraunhofer Association; the network brings together more than 100 European universities, companies and research institutions under one roof. This network is designed to simplify the exchange of ideas and research findings in order to fully exploit innovative potential in the European raw materials sector. The goal is to create and develop new game-changing businesses across Europe that attract not only investment but also talented entrepreneurs and researchers. http://eitrawmaterials.eu/ Laboratory of the extremes On June 24, 2015, the Helmholtz Association Senate gave the green light for a new experimental facility at the European XFEL in Hamburg. The Helmholtz International Beamline for Extreme Fields (HIBEF), which is due to go into operation in 2018, is a collaborative project involving DESY and HZDR. It will substantially extend the capabilities of the High Energy Density Instrument (HED). An international user consortium of up to 100 institutions is expected to contribute to the scientific focus and, in some cases, also to the financing of HIBEF. The UK has already committed to a high-performance laser valued at approximately 11 million euro; an overall budget of 30 million euro is envisaged for the project. ‘This will allow us to do the kind of science and experiments that have not been possible so far,’ says Thomas Cowan of HZDR, who is heading the international user consortium developing the HIBEF station. He illustrates the point with a simple example: ‘If you hit a metal object with a hammer, you damage it in a way you may not be able to see, but it will have repercussions at the atomic level. Today, we understand these processes at a microscopic level. But we want to venture into the nano and sub-nano world, that is, the world of atoms.’ And this will be made possible by combining the brilliant X-ray light of the free electron laser XFEL – the analysis tool – with the intensive light pulses of extremely powerful laser systems, which generate the extreme states in the samples. XFEL’s X-ray radiation will enable even deeper insights into the structure of materials, cells, molecules and atoms as well as extremely short chemical and physical processes. If matter is irradiated simultaneously with an ultra-short pulsed high- power laser this promises to uncover new knowledge about previously hidden processes. Furthermore, in addition to the planned laser systems, one provided by the British partner in the consortium and one by HZDR, HIBEF will also house a unit for generating the highest magnetic fields – which is why HIBEF is part of a new facility for High Energy Density Matter Experiments (HED) that is currently under construction at XFEL. Extreme conditions for different areas of science The unique combination of the Helmholtz Beamline facilitates novel experiments in magnetism which are destined to lead to both a better understanding of fundamentals and to innovative applications, in electronics for example. Investigating matter under extreme conditions is, however, also relevant for studies on the behavior of the Vacuum in strong fields. Plasma physics will be a further focus area. Plasmas are a special state of nature which occur in stars as well as in laser-induced particle acceleration. British and other project partners on the other hand, are particularly interested in matter which is exposed to extreme pressure. So the experiments planned will involve such diverse fields as materials research and geoscience, plasma physics and astrophysics. www.hzdr.de/hibef

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