Using the world’s most powerful X-ray laser in California,
an international research team discovered a surprising behaviour of atoms: with
a single X-ray flash, the group led by Daniel Rolles from the Center for
Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg (Germany) was able to kick a
record number of 36 electrons at once out of a xenon atom. According to
theoretical calculations, these are significantly more than should be possible
at this energy of the X-ray radiation. The team present their unexpected
observations in the journal “Nature Photonics”. CFEL is a collaboration of
DESY, the Max Planck Society and the University of Hamburg.