Illustration
Ultra-bright X-ray laser pulses can be used to strip electrons away from atoms, creating ions with strong charges.
![Illustration of X-ray laser pulses stripping electrons away from atoms](/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2022-09/nature_lcls_rgb.jpg?h=c1adbf8b&itok=XbnpsFl9)
![Against a black background, thin, glowing red wires at top impinge on the hexagonal surface of a translucent mass. Small white dots travel along the edges of the surface in two directions. Within the mass, two orange cones meet at their tips.](/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/probing_topological_high_harmonics_artwork_la_final.jpg?h=5a5fc591&itok=NawlRLkX)
Illustration
A muon, center, spins like a top within the atomic lattice of a thin film of superconducting nickelate.
![A brightly colored top is seen spinning between two layers of gray, purple and red spheres representing atoms in a nickel oxide superconductor. The top represents a fundamental particle called a muon.](/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/newtop3_blkbg.png?h=854a7be2&itok=A5z9SgZ8)