SFB 755 – Nanoscale Photonic Imaging

SFB755 aims at resolving structures and dynamics in space and time on the nanometer scale and on timescales extending over many orders of magnitude down to the femtosecond range.

The increase in resolution and the combination of nanoscale imaging with spectroscopic information is used to extend our capability to describe nanoscale biomolecular and complex fluid systems, under functionally relevant environmental parameters. Novel methods are developed to visualize macromolecular trajectories in aqueous solution and in living cells, to reconstruct the native density distribution in cells and tissues, or to trace inter-molecular interactions along with forces and chemical compositions well beyond the conventional resolution limits.

The research areas covered include optical microscopy beyond the diffraction limit, multidimensional microscopy, spectroscopy with high spatial and temporal resolution, x-ray optics and x-ray imaging, lensless imaging, time dependent x-ray scattering, data reconstruction and inverse optical problems. During the second funding period, the intensive interaction of the experimental projects with mathematical projects has created a strong synergistic impact both on the development in optics and on mathematical methods. In addition, computer simulations of biomolecular dynamics are used to connect photon based experimental data to atomistic models.