EXC 1074: The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI): Structure, Dynamics and Control of Matter at the Atomic Scale

科学上最伟大的梦想实验之一是直接观察化学事件中的原子运动--也就是观察原子在键断裂过程中的分离。关于这种过渡态的信息对于在其最基本的层面上理解生物学同样是核心的；在凝聚态物理、量子材料和AMO物理领域也可以做出类似的重大影响的例子。汉堡超快成像卓越中心(CUI)研究的核心是新的超亮X射线和电子源，使科学家能够在基本的时空限制下观察物质的结构动力学。因此，主要的科学目标是：(1)在分子水平上直接观察将化学和生物学统一起来的过渡态过程；(2)直接解决生物系统中结构和功能之间的关系；(3)开启蛋白质纳米结晶学，增加生物学的结构基础；(4)展示用于许多物体物理的量子模拟器，并解决强关联系统的机制；(5)直接在原子水平上观察成核/自组装，将分子基础与纳米技术联系起来。一些解释：目前关于如何控制化学的图景是基于半经验方法来计算过渡态的结构。实验解析过渡态结构的前景将对我们如何控制化学过程产生巨大影响。在确定生物系统的结构和功能之间的相关性时，也可以对影响提出类似的论点。我们目前只有静态的前后图片，或者充其量是瞬时的中间结构，我们试图通过这些结构来理解蛋白质如何指导化学过程。另一个需要面对的问题是，蛋白质数据库中只有几百个膜结合蛋白质的结构。这些结构至少是考虑药物设计的起点。崔将快速连续地将数百万晶体引入光束线，然后使用一个程序来收集、分类和过滤即将到来的海量数据。在凝聚态物理和量子材料中，超亮的x射线和电子源有望给出原子水平的细节，直接揭示电子-晶格耦合，即使对于复杂的系统也是如此。在纳米技术方面，CuI提供了必要的工具来跟踪纳米颗粒生长和缺陷形成中的成核现象。

One of the great dream experiments in science is to directly observe atomic motions during a chemical event - that is to watch atoms move apart during a bond breaking process as it happens. Information about this transition state is equally central to understanding biology at its most fundamental level; similar examples of significant impact can be made in areas of condensed matter physics, quantum materials, and AMO physics. Central to the research at the Cluster of Excellence Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging (CUI) are the new ultrabright x-ray and electron sources, which enable the scientists to observe structural dynamics of matter at the fundamental space-time limits. The main scientific objectives then are: (1) direct observation of transition state processes that unify chemistry and biology at the molecular level; (2) direct resolution of the correlation between structure and function in biological systems; (3) open up protein nanocrystallography and increase the structural basis of biology; (4) demonstration of quantum simulators for many body physics and resolution of mechanism of strongly correlated systems; (5) directly observe nucleation/self assembly at the atomic level to bridge molecular basis to nanotechnology. Some Explanation: The current picture of how to control chemistry is based on semi-empirical methods to calculate the structure of the transition state. The prospect of experimentally resolving transition state structure will have an enormous impact in how we control chemical processes. Similar arguments on impact can be made for determining the correlation between structure and function of biological systems. We currently only have static before and after pictures or at best transient intermediate structures by which we try to understand how proteins direct chemical processes. Another problem to be faced is that there are only a few hundred structures for membrane bound proteins in the protein data bank. These structures are needed at least as starting points to consider drug design. CUI will introduce millions of crystals into the beam lines in rapid succession and then use a programme to collect, sort, and filter the massive amounts of data that will be forthcoming. In condense matter physics and quantum materials, the ultrabright x-ray and electron sources promise to give atomic level details, directly revealing the electron-lattice coupling, even for complex systems. With regard to nanotechnology CUI provides the necessary tools to follow the nucleation phenomena in the growth of nanoparticles and defect formation.