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On the feasibility of nanocrystal imaging using intense and ultrashort 1.5 {\AA} X-ray pulses
- Publication Year :
- 2010
-
Abstract
- Structural studies of biological macromolecules are severely limited by radiation damage. Traditional crystallography curbs the effects of damage by spreading damage over many copies of the molecule of interest. X-ray lasers, such as the recently built LINAC Coherent Light Source (LCLS), offer an additional opportunity for limiting damage by out-running damage processes with ultrashort and very intense X-ray pulses. Such pulses may allow the imaging of single molecules, clusters or nanoparticles, but coherent flash imaging will also open up new avenues for structural studies on nano- and micro-crystalline substances. This paper addresses the theoretical potentials and limitations of nanocrystallography with extremely intense coherent X-ray pulses. We use urea nanocrystals as a model for generic biological substances and simulate primary and secondary ionization dynamics in the crystalline sample. Our results establish conditions for ultrafast nanocrystallography diffraction experiments as a function of fluence and pulse duration.<br />Comment: 6 pages, 4 color figures
- Subjects :
- Physics - Biological Physics
Physics - Computational Physics
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- arXiv
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsarx.1006.4431
- Document Type :
- Working Paper