Mainz 2026 – scientific programme
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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik
MO 4: Novel Experimental Approaches and Novel Theoretical and Computational Approaches
MO 4.3: Talk
Monday, March 2, 2026, 17:45–18:00, P 105
Laser-induced alignment of macromolecules and nanoparticles — •Lukas Vincent Haas1,2,3, Xuemei Cheng1, Muhamed Amin1, Amit Kumar Samanta1,2,3, and Jochen Küpper1,2,3 — 1Center for Free-Electron Laser Science CFEL, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg — 2Department of Physics, Universität Hamburg — 3Center for Ultrafast Imaging, Universität Hamburg
X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) promise to enable the diffractive imaging of single molecules and nanoparticles, but image reconstruction remains a major bottleneck in achieving atomic spatial resolution [1]. Laser-induced alignment of nanoparticles and macromolecules during the diffractive imaging process has the potential to push resolution toward the atomic scale [2].
We present the quantitative computational modeling of nanoparticle alignment using classical mechanics and electrodynamics [3] along with the first experimental evidence of laser-induced alignment of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in an XFEL-compatible setup. The alignment was probed through optical scattering. A recently conducted XFEL experiment provides initial results on diffractive imaging of laser-aligned TMV. Comparing computational and experimental results, we conclude that a high degree of alignment is achieved for TMV in our experiments.
[1] K. Ayyer, et al., Optica 8(1), 15-23 (2021)
[2] J.C.H. Spence, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 198102 (2004)
[3] M. Amin, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 147(9), 7445 (2025)
Keywords: Single Particle Imaging; Aerodynamic Lens Stack; Laser-induced alignment; Optical scattering microscopy; Fluorescence