Month: June 2024

In the fields of optoelectronics and photochemistry there is growing interest in studying the response to optical excitation of organic molecules, films and interfaces, as these systems are of fundamental relevance for the development of the next generation of environmentally sustainable optoelectronic devices and catalysts. In order to probe the charge and exciton dynamics in such materials down to the sub-nanosecond timescale we developed a setup at the ALOISA beamline of the Elettra synchrotron that exploits the chemical selectivity of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray photoemission (XPS) in an optical pump/X-ray probe experiment. In this talk, I will present our recent results on tracking triplet dynamics in pentacene and perylene thin films. The role of the film morphology will be discussed by comparing the response of perylene molecules with different terminations. Finally, I will show how the developed setup can be used to follow a structural transition in few examples of 2D-materials.

Prime numbers play a crucial role in mathematics being the key elements for the factorization of the integers. The idea to use them for designing a quantum abacus has recently received a new support from the experimental realization of a single-particle quantum Schrodinger Hamiltonian whose eigenvalues are given by the first N prime numbers. Such an experimental set-up consists of light intensities profiles, tuned by a computer-generated holography, able to create an optical trap for ultracold atoms. The statistical properties of the primes, such as their asymptotic scaling law for the 𝑛-th prime 𝑝! ≃ 𝑛 log 𝑛, besides being the key to implement such a quantum potential, are also shared by other sequences of integers obtained by means of sieves. This is the case of the so-called “lucky numbers”, originally studied by Stan Ulam, for which there exists indeed an associated quantum Hamiltonian. Integrated with other considerations, these two examples pave the way toward the possibility to set up quantum systems able of performing arithmetic manipulations, including the factorization of integers.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/98397895198?pwd=V0pDemkxaStRQjFHcUpzdCtUeW5hZz09