The first user experiment has taken place the the SwissFEL X-ray free electron laser, officially inaugurating it as the newest user facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The experiment, led by Camila Bacellar from the Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Ultrarapide (EPFL), investigated ultrafast electron transfer dynamics within a protein to try to identify the charge density re-localization after the protein absorbs a photon of UV light. The experiment was performed using the Alvra Prime experimental station, taking advantage of the integrated von Hamos X-ray emission spectrometer to perform both X-ray absorption and emission measurements on the Fe atom, which is located at the centre of the protein. The experiment successfully investigated the protein under various excitation wavelength conditions and at various times after photoexcitation to get SwissFEL off to an excellent beginning as a user facility.
