Collaborating teams from TU Wien and the University of California San Diego produced unexpectedly powerful X-rays by targeting helium atoms with intense ultraviolet laser pulses. This discovery advances attosecond physics by proving that coordinated quantum interactions can bypass long-accepted restrictions on photon emissions. By rapidly stripping and reuniting both of helium's electrons, the researchers triggered a joint collision that released single, high-frequency X-ray photons. The research successfully expands upon foundational physics concepts originally pioneered at TU Wien in the 1990s.
Key points
Quantum correlations allow two electrons to coordinate their movements and return to the…: Quantum correlations allow two electrons to coordinate their movements and return to the atom at the exact same moment.
Orchestrating a dual-electron collision produces single X-ray photons with significantly…: Orchestrating a dual-electron collision produces single X-ray photons with significantly more energy than previously thought possible.
The experimental results successfully overcome a long-standing theoretical threshold that…: The experimental results successfully overcome a long-standing theoretical threshold that has governed attosecond physics since the 1990s.
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- Date:
- October 28, 2026
- Source:
- Vienna University of Technology
- Summary:
- Scientists have defied a long-standing rule of laser physics by generating X-rays with much higher energies than conventional theory predicts. The surprising discovery reveals how two electrons working together can overcome a previously accepted limit, opening new possibilities for quantum research.
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Scientists have pushed X-ray generation beyond a long-accepted limit in laser physics, revealing a surprising quantum effect that conventional theory does not account for. By directing powerful ultraviolet lasers at helium atoms, researchers produced X-rays with substantially higher energies than the standard model predicts. The breakthrough depends on an unusual interaction between two electrons that allows them to release their energy together.
The discovery comes from a collaboration between TU Wien and the University of California San Diego and builds on research that helped establish the field of attosecond physics. Laser techniques developed at TU Wien in the 1990s contributed to advances recognized by the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics.
For decades, scientists have understood that directing laser light at certain…
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