This book gives a comprehensive account of modern x-ray science based on the use of synchrotron radiation and x-ray-free electron lasers (XFELs), presented against the historical background of the puzzling nature of light, and culminating in quantum electrodynamics (QED) and quantum optics. It covers the physical foundations of the creation, properties, and detection of x-rays, uniquely emphasizing how the classical wave theory emerges from the photon concept of QED in lowest order. It then presents the formulation of the interactions of x-rays with atomic matter from both semi-empirical...

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to photoelectron angular distributions and their use in the laboratory to study light-matter interactions. Photoelectron angular distribution measurements are useful because they can shed light on atomic and molecular electronic configurations and system dynamics, as well as provide information about quantum transition amplitudes and relative phases that are not obtainable from other types of measurements. For example, recent measurements of molecular-frame photoelectron angular distributions have been used to extract photoelectron emission...