T9: Optical Coherence of X-rays and Electrons in Condensed Matter Research

The optical coherence of x-rays and electrons allows scientists to fundamentally reevaluate what information about condensed matter systems can be gained from scattering and microscopy experiments with x-rays and electrons. Coherence techniques extend the reach of microscopy methods by improving spatial resolution to new regimes and provide information about fluctuations including variations in time and space of electronic and magnetic degrees of freedom. The capabilities of these methods are now in a period of rapid improvement and expansion because of the development of optical methods and analytical tools and a simultaneous investment in instrumentation including x-ray light sources such as the upgraded Advanced Photon Source, the National Synchrotron Light Source II, an upgrade to the Advanced Light Source, and the Linac Coherent Light Source II. Similar technical advances are bringing new capabilities to electron scattering. This tutorial aims to provide condensed matter scientists with background in the fundamentals underpinning coherence methods and the understanding necessary to employ them in specific areas of research. The audience would be the full range of condensed matter researchers, from students to principal investigators. The talks will assume a basic level of knowledge of optical and condensed matter phenomena but do not require background in scattering or coherence.

Topics covered:

• Fundamentals of Optical Coherence in Scattering

• Fluctuations and Statistical Mechanical Methods

• Soft Materials Dynamics

• Dynamics of Electronic and Magnetic Order in Quantum Materials

• Imaging and Hidden Medium-Range Order at the Atomic Scale