Atom produces its own hologram

17 December 2010
A world first, researchers of the FOM institutes AMOLF and Rijnhuizen have produced a hologram of an atom using its own electrons. To achieve this, the physicists used the unique properties of the FELICE laser, the new free electron laser for intra-cavity experiments at Rijnhuizen. The group also cooperated with an international research team to show that both very quick motions of the electron and of the remaining ion are being stored in the hologram.

The discovery could lead to a new supplementary technique to characterise processes on very short timescales and can give insights in important chemical reactions in our environment. For FOM PhD student Ymkje Huismans, this first paper as a first author is a great achievement: the work is described in the journal Science.

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See the complete press release (in Dutch)

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Hologram van een Xenon atoom, gemeten met de FELICE-laser in van FOM-Instituut voor Plasmafysica Rijnhuizen

Concept van holografie