Chemistry 108

Bringing XFEL Science to the Laboratory: Commissioning the Compact X-ray Light Source at Arizona State University
Sabine Botha, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Physics
Arizona State University

Compact accelerator-driven X-ray sources are emerging as a new class of laboratory-scale facilities capable of delivering capabilities traditionally available only at large national user facilities. At Arizona State University, the Compact X-ray Light Source (CXLS) is currently undergoing commissioning, while its successor, the Compact X-ray Free Electron Laser (CXFEL), is under construction. Together, these instruments aim to bring ultrashort, high-brightness X-ray pulses into the university laboratory, enabling new opportunities in structural biology, medical imaging, atomic, molecular and optical physics, and the study of condensed matter and quantum materials.

Uncovering Extreme Matter When Gravity Waves
Nicolas Yunes, Bob Uyetani Professor in Physics
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Neutron stars contain matter at extreme densities and low temperatures that cannot be reproduced together in terrestrial experiments. Their collisions offer a way to study this matter through gravitational waves. In this colloquium, I will discuss how tidal deformation connects gravitational-wave measurements to stellar structure, and how approximate universal relations help overcome degeneracies in these measurements. I will then explore the connections between microscopic nuclear interactions and macroscopic stellar properties, asking what observations can tell us about matter deep inside neutron stars. A neutron star’s response does not just depend on its equilibrium structure, but also on how rapidly it is driven, how its constituents relax toward equilibrium, and how phase boundaries respond to perturbations. These effects connect dynamical tides and dissipation to the underlying matter physics. I will distinguish what observations already constrain from the signatures that remain difficult to measure, and discuss the prospects for learning more about dense matter when gravity waves.

Standard Model of Electromagnetism and Chirality in Crystals
Roland Winkler, Professor, Department of Physics
Northern Illinois University

Predicting emergent macroscopic characteristics of crystalline solids remains a central challenge in materials physics because conventional approaches often overlook subtle symmetries that dictate complex electric, magnetic, and chiral properties. We addressed this by developing a comprehensive classification that uses symmetry principles to sort crystal structures into five categories of electric and magnetic multipole order and five categories of chirality. Our framework identifies 12 unique types of crystal classes, each possessing distinct physical properties, and accounts for previously overlooked configurations, such as multichirality with four distinct enantiomorphs.

Light-driven Molecular Transformations Captured by Ultrafast Spectroscopy
Dr. Chavdar Slavov, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of South Florida

Femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy reveals the excited-state pathways and chromophore dynamics that transform light absorption into photochemical and biological function. Using phytochromes, I will illustrate how the protein environment controls chromophore isomerization, which in turn initiates structural changes that regulate biological signaling.