Physicists squeeze extra data from superfast X-ray probes using machine learning

Chemical reactions could be probed in even greater detail using a method invented by Imperial researchers that better characterises ultrafast X-rays. X-rays can be used to investigate the structures of, and reactions between, molecules on very small scales and at high speed. To do this, scientists use free electron lasers (FELs) to create a train of X-ray pulses. This allows researchers to probe some of the fundamental processes in chemistry and biology – such as the mechanisms of photosynthesis and the reactions of amino acids, which are the building blocks of life. However, FELs are inherently unstable, meaning the properties of the resulting X-rays can vary from one pulse to the next.