Webinar Planning

Date	Time	Speaker	Title	Duration	Notes

Date	Time	Speaker	Title	Duration	Notes
July 31st 2020	11 AM	John Tse	Vapour deposition system for interstellar-space experiments.	30 minutes + 30 Minutes for discussion	This is a short presentation describing a high vacuum-low temperature vapour deposition system for in-situ Raman and time-resolved x-ray diffraction experiments installed at the Brockhouse section. The motivation is to create interest in the use of this system for other type of experiments, e.g. IR studies of molecules and/or molecular complexes and photo-reactions under interstellar environment.
September 29th 2020	1 PM	Brant Billinghurst	CLS 2.0 and the Far-Infrared Beamline	30 minutes + 60 Minutes for discussion	This is a short Presentation to show the possibilities for Far-Infrared spectroscopy on CLS 2.0. Included in the presentation will be early models of the expected output for various potential sources associated with CLS 2.0, such as the Multi Bend Acromat, a 3 pole Wiggler and a Low energy ring. The intent of the presentation is to start a discussion about the possibilities and to inform the Far-Infrared Community about these possibilities prior to the upcoming CLS AUM.
November 27th 2020	1 PM	Micheal Pravice	Fluorine chemistry at extreme conditions: Possible synthesis of HgF4	30 Minutes	By harnessing the highly ionizing, highly penetrating, and highly focused properties of hard x-rays (>7keV) in an isolated chamber (e.g. diamond anvil cell) to initiate chemical decompositions (e.g. XeF2 + hv -> Xe + F2), we have enabled the study of fluorine (the "tiger" of chemistry) and fluorine-based reactions at extreme conditions. Taking advantage of this ability, we sought to verify predictions that Hg would alter its oxidation state in an abundance of molecular fluorine at high pressures (>10 GPa). In this talk, we will present evidence garnered from studies at the Far-IR beamline at the CLS for the following reaction: HgF2 + F2 -> HgF4.
December 18th 2020	1 PM	Locke Spencer	A Canadian Perspective on the Past, Present, and Future of the Far-Infrared Universe	60 Minutes + 30 Minutes for questions	Over half of the energy emitted by the Universe appears in the relatively unexplored Far-Infrared (FIR) spectral region, which is virtually opaque from the ground and must be observed by space-borne instrumentation. The European Space Agency (ESA) Herschel and Planck Space Telescopes provided the first full-sky and broad-band access to the cosmos in the FIR spectral region. Herschel was comprised of three instruments which conducted imaging and spectroscopy in the FIR, including the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), with the Canadian contribution to SPIRE directed by the University of Lethbridge Astronomical Instrumentation Group (AIG). This lecture also introduces the Far-Infrared Universe, and Canadian perspective on associated telescopes and scientific instrumentation, past, present, and including future missions and mission concepts. Targets of interest include relatively nearby star formation, all the way out to the oldest photons available to us from the cosmic microwave background.
May 5th 2021	1 PM	Brant Billinghurst and Jianbao Zhao	Far-Infrared Beamline 2020-2021 Review	30 Minutes	2020-2021 has been a challenging time for everyone, including the CLS and the Far-Infrared beamline. Despite these challenges, there were a lot of excellent outcomes. The beamline produced a record number of publications in 2021, and progress has been made on several development activities. This talk will provide an update on the activities of the Far-Infrared Beamline. Topics will include: Outcomes from 2020 Results of tests of Top-up operation Development of a cooling system for 100-200K operation of the 2 Meter cell. Development of the Veemax III variable angle reflection system. Plans for new control software for the Horizontal Microscope. Update on the status of the Storage ring. Other
February 4th 2021	11 AM	Colin Western	Making Sense Out Of Gibberish or How To Assign A Complex Spectrum With PGOPHER.	30 Minutes	In this talk I will introduce two key updates to my pgopher program (see http://pgopher.chm.bris.ac.uk), which added tools for the rapid assignment of the rotational lines in a band. While general purpose, the new tools are particularly effective for the dense but resolved spectra such as those recorded at the CLS, and can enable the rapid assignment of thousands of lines in a band. The tools involve both automated searches and a new plot style, a nearest lines plot, which allows candidate assignments to be rapidly accepted or rejected. The talk will provide a basic description of these, and discuss where they work, and where they might not.
June 11th 2021	1 PM	Ian Burgess	Spectroelectrochemistry Using Synchrotron Infrared Radiation	30 MInutes	Heterogeneous electrochemical reactions are inherently surface processes and the complex organization of reactant, product and intermediate species as well as solvent and seemingly spectator ions play a critical role in determining the rates and pathways of electrochemical transformations. Understanding the structure of the interface requires the use of hyphenated techniques whereby electrochemical control of the surface is maintained while the interface is interrogated with spectroscopic tools. The high level of molecular specificity afforded by infrared spectroscopy has been used extensively for spectroelectrochemistry. Nevertheless, the low brilliance of conventional mid-IR sources has limited most IR measurements to interfaces under equilibrated conditions or the study of relatively slow processes. This seminar will provide an overview of our attempts to develop microsecond resolved IR spectroelectrochemistry at the CLS. While most of the seminar will focus on mid-IR results, applications for far-IR studies of electrochemical interfaces will also be described.