Femtosecond Thomson scattering X-ray source based on laser wakefield accelerator for ultrafast X-ray absorption spectroscopy

A novel source of femtosecond keV X-ray pulses based on Thomson scattering from a terawatt laser wakefield accelerator is being developed for chemical studies. The characteristics of the source, based on recent calculations and experiments, are discussed. Due to its short pulse duration, high flux and collimation this X-ray source is very well suited for ultrafast time-resolved X-ray absorption experiments to study short-living transient structures in gasses, liquids and solids. As an example of such an experiment, we propose to study the solvent-solute dynamics in charge-transfer-to-solvent processes.