The research activities at the Structure and Dynamics of Complex Systems (SDCS) laboratory are focused on the experimental study of the interplay between structural and dynamical properties of a class of materials including liquids and glasses, soft matter, ceramics and disordered photonic systems. In fact, the relevant macroscopic properties of these materials (e.g. thermodynamic properties, transport coefficients, elastic moduli etc.) do not depend only on their structure or on their dynamics but rather on their often complex interplay. These research activities aim at achieving a detailed understanding and eventually a tailored design of materials with predefined properties.
Temperature effects on the nanoscale thermoelastic response of a SiO2 membrane
We crossed two femtosecond extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulses on a 100 nm thick amorphous membrane of SiO2, generating transient gratings (TGs) of light intensity with 84 nm spatial periodicity. The EUV TG excitation gave rise to the …
- 27/06/2024
Disclosing the nature of the collective THz dynamics in hydrogen-bonded liquids
The behavior of liquids has always been a subject of strong interest and still presents many challenging issues. A paradigmatic example is the understanding of their atomic-scale collective dynamics. Experimentally accessible to inelastic neutron and …
- 30/01/2024
Extreme ultraviolet transient gratings: A tool for nanoscale photoacoustics
Collective lattice dynamics determine essential aspects of condensed matter, such as elastic and thermal properties. These exhibit strong dependence on the length-scale, reflecting the marked wavevector dependence of lattice excitations. The extreme ultraviolet transient grating …
- 14/02/2023
Micro-Raman spectroscopy for a comprehensive understanding of the structural evolution of Basaltic-Andesite and Trachybasalt multiphase systems
The liquid viscosity of multiphase systems is usually retrieved by the use of combined chemical analysis and empirical chemistry-based models. Here we present an alternative approach to study the glassy pools in highly crystallized basaltic-andesite …
- 14/02/2023
Effect of the alkali vs iron ratio on glass transition temperature and vibrational properties of synthetic basalt-like glasses
Volcanic eruptions generate huge amounts of material with a wide range of compositions and therefore different physicochemical properties. We present a combined Raman and calorimetric study carried out on four synthetic basaltic glasses with different …
- 14/02/2023