Novel opportunities for time-resolved absorption spectroscopy at the X-ray free electron laser.

Time-dependent X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) measurements of chemical reaction dynamics have a time resolution which is limited by: (a) the speed and efficiency of the reaction initiation; (b) the duration of the X-ray pulses used for the measurement; and (c) the brightness of the X-ray source. X-Ray Free Electron Lasers (XFEL), which will deliver 20-100 fs pulses of X-rays, with a peak brightness which is 10(10) times that of a synchrotron, will alleviate limitations (b) and (c). Furthermore, by including a synchronized source of UV, visible, IR or THz pump radiation, the XFEL will contribute to the solution of limitation (a). The present article describes the XFEL operating principle and the generic design of an XFEL facility, emphasizing the features of particular interest to the XAS investigator.