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Welcome to X-Ray Optics

X-ray optics is concerned with the interaction of photons with matter. Highenergy (X-ray) photons probe the dominant atomic structure and atomic physics. VUV photons and gamma-rays are also subjects of investigation.

Quantum Electrodynamics is one of the two best-tested theories in physics and science, at the heart of atomic physics. Yet certain problems in its formulation lead people like Roger Penrose to conclude that there are fundamental flaws in the theory which may be revealed by an appropriate experiment. The type of experiment pursued here may reveal such an inadequacy, by being more sensitive to important terms and interactions than other available tests. QED is the primary explanation of the interaction of light and charge, and is fundamental to much of the physics which we assume and rely on in the world today.

(X-ray) optics and atomic physics are highly accessible to simultaneous theoretical and experimental investigations. Hence honours-level projects can be predominantly theoretical or experimental, without losing sight of the direct link to the other. Doctorates link those threads together into a coherent whole.