Liquid-Phase Ultrafast Electron and Xray Scattering

Submission Deadline: June 1, 2026Contribute to this Special Topic

This special issue invites contributions presenting experimental data and theoretical insights on liquid-phase structural dynamics studied with ultrafast X-ray and electron scattering. We aim to highlight work that not only reports new scientific results but also advances experimental methods and data analysis approaches, including innovations in data collection, signal interpretation, and simulation. Submissions that showcase or review current beamline capabilities are also encouraged.

Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

  • Photoinduced structural and solvation dynamics
  • Equilibrium and non-equilibrium liquid-phase dynamics
  • Coherent nuclear motion and wavepacket dynamics
  • Multimodal approaches combining scattering with spectroscopy (XES, XAS, RIXS)
  • Ultrafast liquid-phase transitions
  • Liquid structural dynamics under extreme conditions
  • Advances in source development (brightness, high-energy, high-repetition-rate, coherence, etc.)
  • Electronic-structure methods for excited-state and solvent-coupled dynamics
  • Molecular-dynamics methods
  • Nuclear quantum effects in liquids
  • Inversion and retrieval algorithms for ultrafast scattering data
  • Machine-learning and AI approaches for ultrafast scattering data
  • Developments in liquid sample environments and delivery methods
  • Advances on the optical side (pulse length, accessible wavelengths, etc.)

Guest Editors:

Elisa Biasin, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Thomas Wolf, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Submission Deadline: June 1, 2026Contribute to this Special Topic