News

Our brand-new undulator produced its first light, thereby extending the tuning range of FELIX-2 to 3 micron.  The extension of the FELIX wavelength range is one of the projects of the HFML-FELIX NWO Roadmap grant 2018.

Maarten Berben investigated two families of low dimensional and superconducting materials with electronic transport measurements under the influence of magnetic fields. He discovered that these metals also show strange behaviour when it comes to magnetoresistance. This suggests a new paradigm for magnetotransport in strange metals. He successfully defended his PhD thesis on 23 May. Based on the outstanding quality of the thesis and excellent defence, he was awarded a doctorate with the distinction ‘cum laude’.

A new edition of EMFL news is available, with the latest news and research updates from the magnetic field laboratories in Europe, including HFML-FELIX.

Tuesday 26 April Julianna Palotás succesfully defended her thesis that is devoted to the laboratory aspects of astrochemistry. She succeeded in recording the first laboratory infrared spectrum of protonated fullerenes C60H+ and C70H+.She also demonstrates that the infrared spectra of ionized fullerenes are significantly distinct from the fingerprints of (ionized) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Her research offers new insights in the composition of the interstellar medium and provides starting points for further research.

Monday 11 April, Sjors Bakels successfully defended his PhD thesis. Using the intense, tunable infrared laser light from HFML-FELIX, Bakels was able to take the understanding of the mechanism underlying peptide aggregation a step further.

Last Saturday, we welcomed students from the COAST-ATLAS programme at HFML-FELIX.

Sander Lemmens successfully defended his thesis on 10 March. Lemmens focused on three questions: what is the organic inventory in the universe, how do molecules form in the interstellar medium, and how do they interact? With the FELIX infrared light he studied the properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that occur in interstellar space.

FELs OF EUROPE, the collaboration of free electron laser (FEL) facilities in Europe, published a new issue of their newsletter. It includes updates and research highlights from the 15 associated facilities, including HFML-FELIX.