Thomas Schlathotler (RuG) – Core excitation by EUV light and soft-X-rays driving atomistic break-up from inside

On Wednesday, April 29th , we will welcome our colloquium guest Thomas Schlathotler (RuG).

Please find below his title, abstract, bio, and photo

Title: Core excitation by EUV light and soft-X-rays driving atomistic break-up from inside

Gas-phase experiments provide a uniquely well-controlled platform for investigating molecular processes initiated by the absorption of energetic photons. They probe isolated intrinsic properties, enable direct benchmarking against theory, and allow elementary mechanisms to be disentangled using advanced molecular physics techniques. Even highly complex molecules can be transferred intact into the gas phase as ions using electrospray ionization, where their charge enables efficient manipulation through radiofrequency-based guiding, trapping, and control techniques. Combined with tunable synchrotron radiation and mass spectrometry, this approach enables the measurement of photoion yields as a function of photon energy, providing spectroscopic information for selected reaction pathways.

The use of EUV and soft X-ray photons enables not only element-specific excitation via inner-shell absorption edges, but—through careful selection of core-level resonances—also site-selective excitation of specific atoms within a molecule.

In this talk, I will present examples illustrating the application of this approach to biomolecular systems in the context of radiotherapy, as well as to EUV photoresists, and will then outline prospective experiments on EUV and soft X-ray interactions with gas-phase tin clusters and nanoparticles.

Bio: Thomas Schlathölter is a principal investigator at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, where he leads the Gas-phase Biomolecules and Energetic Interactions group. His research focuses on interactions of intense radiation with complex gas-phase molecular ions, with a strong emphasis on instrumentation. He is coordinator of the upcoming MSCA doctoral network COPCA DN, focusing on developing next-generation research facilities for collision physics and chemistry.

Schlathölter received his PhD from the University of Osnabrück in 1996, followed by a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship in Groningen. After receiving the Max-Auwärter Prize for his thesis, he became a Fellow of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences from 2001–2006.