The 3rd meeting organized in the framework of Working Group 2 of COST Action CM1204 (XUV/X-ray light and fast ions for ultrafast chemistry) will take place in Leiden (Netherlands) from May 11 to 13, 2015. It will be an expert meeting centered on Large Interstellar Molecules: “Energetic Processing of Large Interstellar Molecules”.

Three key questions will be addressed during the workshop:

• Which experimental techniques do we need to develop to probe correlated electronic-vibrational dynamics in photo-activated molecules?
• What is the functional role of non-equilibrium vibrational motion for energy and charge transport as well as energy storage in biomolecules? How are these specific molecular motions “selected”?
• Do we have an appropriate theoretical framework to describe and understand these phenomena? Is the predictive power of the current theories enough to accurately predict dynamics and functionality?

More information can be found on the meeting website: http://www.lorentzcenter.nl/lc/web/2015/725/info.php3?wsid=725&venue=Snellius

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
The participation of a limited number of XLIC participants and speakers will be supported with the Action budget. Participants entitled for reimbursement should have been informally notified about their status.

By the end of March, all participants will receive an official invitation to the meeting confirming their eligibility status and highligting some of the COST rules for reimbursement which should be carefully examined before incurring any expense in:

• COST Vademecum, page 19-23, and /or
• the instructions on how to fill the Travel Reimbursement Request Form (TRR)

Since the budget allocated for the meeting is limited, it is highly reccomended keeping the claims for meals and accomodation at the actual level of expensiture during the meeting. Nevertheless. in compliance with COST rules, this subsistence expenses will be reimbursed on the basis of flat rates (no need to show invoices). The applicable flat rates for this meeting, as approved by XLIC Management Committee, are 100 EUR for accommodation and 0 EUR for meals.

For travel expenses actual costs can be claimed on the basis of the receipts provided. (Any restriction applying to travel expenses will be notified to each participant entitled for reimbursement)

IMPORTANT: Participants selected for reimbursement are kindly asked to keep their expenses as low as possible to ensure a wide distribution of the Action budget.

The submission of claims shall be done after the meeting, but, for any non-regular expense or doubt you may have, please, better ask in advance (info@xlic.eu). E.g. fligths departure/arrivals from/to places other than where the eligible participant is working/residing, extra meals, nights, taxi expenses, etc. shall not be reimbursed if permission is not requested before the meeting.

The CECAM School on: “Theoretical Spectroscopy Lectures: theory and codes” reaches the 6th edition and takes place from 18th to 22th of May, 2015 at the CECAM-HQ-EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Electronic excitations are probed by experimental techniques such as optical absorption, EELS and photo-emission (direct or inverse). From the theory point of view, excitations and excited state properties are out of the reach of density-functional theory (DFT), which is a ground-state theory. In the last twenty years other ab-initio theories and frameworks, which are able to describe electronic excitations and spectroscopy, have become more and more used: time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) and many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) or Green’s function theory (GW approximation and Bethe-Salpeter equation BSE). In fact, computational solutions and codes have been developed in order to implement these theories and to provide tools to calculate excited state  properties.The present school focuses on these points, covering theoretical, practical, and also numerical aspects of TDDFT and MBPT, and codes implementing them (ABINIT, DP, EXC).

The presentation of the theory will be followed by practical classes and hands-on  tutorials. At the end of the school, students will have sufficient working knowledge to  pursue their projects at their home institution. The participants are expected to have a fair knowledge of DFT prior to the school (see Ref. 1, given in the school’s website) and to be familiar with one plane-wave pseudopotential based software.
Indeed, although at the beginning of the school, we will make sure that the DFT level of all participants is enough in this respect and provide the needed complementary  information and training, the purpose of the school is to go beyond DFT, with hands-on exercices based on plane-wave implementations.

The deadline for application is on 15 April 2015, but giving the limited number of places (around 25) many applications will be considered even before the deadline. Especially student candidates coming from outside EU are encouraged to register soon: an answer to them will be given as soon as possible for VISA and traveling purposes.

In order to apply for the school, please go to: http://www.cecam.org/workshop-1136.html

Scope

The topic of the 2^nd meeting on the Energetic Processing of Large Molecules (EPoLM-2) is Carbon- and hydrocarbon molecules: from the lab to space. Building on the success of the first meeting at the Lorentz Center in Leiden in May 2015, we aim to bring together scientists from a broad range of research fields (physics, chemistry, astrophysics, and astronomy) to exchange expertise and work together on joint projects. Here, the focus will be on the latest laboratory results on mechanisms and rates for the formation and destruction of carbon and hydrocarbon molecules under space-like conditions. The aim of the meeting is to combine this knowledge with new observations and astrophysical models.

The 2^nd meeting for the members of the XLIC Working Group 2 is organized in the framework of the COST Action CM1204 (XUV/X-ray light and fast ions for ultrafast chemistry). Working Group 2 is concerned with the stability of highly excited and highly charged molecules in the gas phase and their reactivity: interaction with other molecules and formation of new species through isomerization and/or fragmentation.

 Conference site

The meetings will be held during 11-13 and 13-15 April 2016 in Stockholm (Sweden), with one common day (April 13). The conference venue is the AlbaNova University Center, which is located close to the city center and is easily accessed by public transport.

Deadlines     

Registration: 29 February 2016
Abstract submission: 29 February 2016
Note that the registration may be closed earlier due to the capacity of the venue

Support

Speakers invited to attend the second XLIC WG2 meeting (and some selected participants) can be reimbursed for their travel and subsistence expenses in accordance to COST rules. Please, note that no support to attend the EPoLM-2 meeting will be provided by XLIC Action.

Before incurring on any expense, please check COST Vademecum pages 20-24. In particular, please,
– check the supporting documents you should provide in case you are travelling to and from countries other than that where the approved meeting is being held and the country where you are residing. A proper justification and all the documents detailed in page 22 of COST Vademecum should be provided when sending the claim. If not, the claim will be rejected.
– take note on the current definition on Local transport expenses on page 24 of COST Vademecum: now, you should provide tickets/invoices for any trip occurring within the same country if the claim exceed 25 EUR.

Participants are kindly asked to keep their expenses as low as possible and ask only for the amounts they have spent, even if flat rates allow for a higher contribution, so the Action budget can be used to support more activities/participants. Thank you in advance!

Organizing committee

Henrik Cederquist (Stockholm University), Henning Zettergren (Stockholm University), Henning Schmidt (Stockholm University), Ronnie Hoekstra (University of Groningen), and Alexander Tielens (Leiden Observatory).

Registration for the Ultrafast X-Ray Summer School 2016 is now open. UXSS 2016 will take place during June 12-16 at the PULSE institute at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. UXSS 2016 is organized in collaboration with the Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL) at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. The summer school is intended to give a comprehensive introduction to the field of ultrafast x-ray science and free electron lasers. The program, directed towards graduate students and post-docs, is highly interdisciplinary and focuses on the latest developments and opportunities in the field. A limited amount of travel support is available. Students interested to apply are requested to send a brief one-page statement describing their background and research interests. For more information visit:

https://ultrafast.stanford.edu/uxss-2016

The DELOCALIZED ELECTRONS IN ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR NANOCLUSTERS will be held on July 22-28, 2016 in Erice (Sicily), Italy
at the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture

PURPOSE: A wide range of important effects in nanoscience are connected with the presence and behavior of delocalized and mobile electrons.  Nanoclusters, as important testbed systems for exploring and developing quantum size effects, novel materials, and reaction pathways exhibit a range of phenomena which are highly sensitive to delocalized electrons’ mobility, screening, response, direct and exchange interactions, correlations, etc.
However, these phenomena are frequently discussed in non-overlapping venues, and the aim of the present workshop is to bring together researchers in adjacent fields to examine recent and future developments.  To keep the discussion focused, it will concentrate on free clusters and related systems.

TOPICS
Fundamental quantum phenomena
General shell effects
Ionization and collective states
Optical properties
Molecular and ionic nanoclusters
Nanomagnetism
Quantum fluid clusters
Solvated electrons
Storage rings and traps

FORMAT
The program will include invited talks, selected oral presentations, a poster session and ample free time for individual discussions.  It is especially hoped that graduate and diploma students, postdoctoral fellows, and anyone who is interested in the interdisciplinary richness of the subject will be able to attend the Workshop.

INVITED SPEAKERS
Rodolphe Antoine (University of Lyon)
Markus Arndt (University of Vienna)
Toshiyuki Azuma (RIKEN)
Giorgio Benedek (University of Milano-Bicocca)
Kit Bowen (Johns Hopkins University)
Henrik Cederquist (Stockholm University)
Juraj  Fedor (Heyrovský Institute)
Gleb Gribakin (Queen’s University Belfast)
Hannu Häkkinen (University of Jyväskylä)
Walter de Heer (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Bernd von Issendorff (University of Freiburg)
Koblar Alan Jackson (Central Michigan University)
Franck Lepine (University of Lyon)
Andreas Mauracher (University of Innsbruck)
Catalin Miron (Extreme Light Infrastructure Project)
Mark Pederson (Johns Hopkins University)
Jan Michael Rost (Max Planck Institute, Dresden)
Lutz Schweikhard  (University of Greifswald)
Petr Slavícek (University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague)
Frank Stienkemaier (University of Freiburg)
Lai-Sheng Wang (Brown University)
Thomas Zeuch (University of Göttingen)

APPLICATIONS
Persons wishing to attend the Workshop are requested to submit an application (and an abstract, if they wish to make a presentation) by electronic mail, <deamn16@usc.edu>, to the directors, Profs. V. V. Kresin and K. Hansen, following the instructions on the workshop registration page: http://physics.usc.edu/deamn16/Registration.htm
The program includes slots for “hot topic” oral presentations to be selected from the contributed abstracts; please indicate in your submission if you would like it to be considered.

REGISTRATION AND FEES
Registration and travel information and forms are also provided on the aforementioned registration page.
Not only is Erice a comfortable, convenient and charming location, but the Centre makes it possible to offer a single all-inclusive participation fee which includes lodging and all meals in local restaurants.
Subject to sponsor approval, external funding may permit a limited number of reduced workshop fees for graduate students and postdocs.

If you have any questions, please consult the above web page or e-mail DEAMN16@usc.edu.  We hope to see you in Erice.

Directors of the Workshop:
Vitaly Kresin, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Klavs Hansen, University of Gothenburg

Advisory Committee:
Kit Bowen, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

2^nd MOLIM Training School: Advanced technics for molecular spectroscopy and dynamics

The 2^nd MOLIM Training School focuses on the recent experimental developments occurred in the field of molecular spectroscopy and reaction dynamics. World-wide experts working in European country will be invited to present the most relevant state-of-the-art techniques and their applications. The trainees will benefit from visits of the brand new laser servers ATTOLAB and CILEX as well as of the synchrotron SOLEIL. By team of 2 to 3 trainees, the students will be involved in a laboratory project hosted in several laboratories of the Paris-Saclay University.

The registration is open to Master students, Ph.D students, post-docs and permanent scientist from all European countries. Affiliation to the COST MOLIM is not required to participate to this school. The school can welcome up to 40 Europeans trainees and 10 more students from Paris region.

The registration deadline is fixed at Feb 24th 2017. Booking of rooms by the Committee will be possible up to Jan. 31st 2017.

Registration: http://iramis.cea.fr/meetings/MTS2/index.php

Confirmed speakers:

Knuth Asmis (Leipzig, D)
Valérie Blanchet (Bordeaux, FR)
Juraj Fedor (Prague, CZ)
Gustavo Garcia (Paris-Saclay, France)
Katharina Kohse-Höinghaus (Bielefeld, D)
Anne Lafosse (ISMO, F)
Franck Lépine (Lyon, FR)
Andrew Orr-Ewing (Bristol, UK)
Katharine Reid (Nothingham, UK)
Claire Vallance (Oxford, UK)
Katalin Varjú (Szeged, HU)
Roland Wester (Innsbruck, AU)

Organizing Comittee :

Dr. Lionel Poisson
Pr. Majdi Hochlaf
Dr. Laurent Nahon
Pr. Satchin Soorkia

The 4th  XLIC General Meeting (COST Action CM1204) will be held in Prague, Czech Republic, on March 14-16, 2017. It will also host the final XLIC Management Committee (March 14) and the 3rd Young Scientist Forum (YSF).

ABSTRACTS:
Deadline for the submission of abstracts is January 31st, 2017. Abstracts should be written in English and uploaded via the online form.

REGISTRATION:
Interested participants must register before February 14th, 2017, by filling the corresponding form.  All meeting participants must pay a conference package (including lunch, dinner and coffee) for the days attending the meeting. To proceed with the payment, please, fill, sign and send to reservation@hotelpyramida.cz the following form.

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
The conference will consist of lectures given by invited speakers, Young Scientist Forum and 2 poster sessions.
NEW: The draft full scientific program, including timetable, talks and list of poster contributions can be downloaded here: XLIC_GM_2017-ScientificProgram (the most updated version should be checked in the meeting website: http://www.jh-inst.cas.cz/xlic2017/programme).

3rd YOUNG SCIENTISTS FORUM:
There shall be a special half-day session with talks given by young researchers (PhD students and post-docs) on March 15. It will include 12 lectures, out of which 6 oral contributions will be chosen by YSF committee based on submitted abstracts. The deadline for abstract submission for YSF was 31^st January 2017.
Applicants asking for the talk at YSF are also required to submit a short CV which is to be emailed to xlic2017@jh-inst.cas.cz. Abstracts submitted after the deadline will not be considered for the selection.
For more details see http://www.jh-inst.cas.cz/xlic2017/home and  http://www.xlic.eu. You can also contact A. Domaracka (domaracka@ganil.fr).
Selected YSF speakers can ask for financial support from XLIC COST Action.
NEW: The list of young researchers selected to give a talk has been published here: https://xlic.qui.uam.es/?p=3369

ACCOMMODATION:
Due to all-under-one-roof format of the conference, accommodation is also available: both single and double rooms for the price of 65 EUR/night. To book your room, please, fill, sign and send to reservation@hotelpyramida.cz the following form before February 14th, 2017.
More information can be found in the meeting website: http://www.jh-inst.cas.cz/xlic2017/accommodation

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
The participation of  XLIC MC members and speakers will be supported with Action budget (with the exception of MC Observers coming from IPC Institutions). COST will also fully reimburse those young researchers selected for oral contributions in the Young Scientist Forum and, depending on the budget, we will try to cover also expenses from other young participants.
Participants entitled for reimbursement will receive an official notification before the meeting. We strongly recommend to check the COST rules for reimbursement before incurring any expense in:

• COST Vademecum, page 20-24, and /or
• the instructions on how to fill the Travel Reimbursement Request Form (TRR)

Accommodation and meal expenses will be reimbursed on the basis of flat rates. A reduction on maximum flat rates allowed for this particular meeting has been agreed by XLIC MC. The applicable rates are 100 EUR for accommodation and 20 EUR for meal expenses. For participants staying in cheaper hotels less money can be claimed  by requesting the reimbursement for a smaller number of nights/meals.
For travel expenses actual costs can be claimed on the basis of the receipts provided (any restriction applying to travel expenses will be notified to each participant entitled for reimbursement).

IMPORTANT:
Participants selected for reimbursement are kindly asked to keep their expenses as low as possible to ensure a wide distribution of the Action budget.
The submission of claims shall be done after the meeting, but, for any non-regular expense or doubt you may have, please, better ask in advance (info@xlic.eu). E.g. fligths departure/arrivals from/to places other than where the eligible participant is working/residing, extra meals, nights, taxi expenses, etc. shall not be reimbursed if permission is not requested before the meeting.
Please note that claims submitted later than 30 days after the meeting shall not be considered.

The International school on “The Frontiers of Attosecond and Ultrafast X-ray Science” will be held from 19th to 28th March 2017 in Erice, Sicily, Italy.

The primary objective of this new school is to educate the next generation of scientists who will impact the future of attosecond and ultrafast x-ray science. We anticipate that the school will meet on a regular basis every two years and become a foundation for the ultrafast community. Consequently, the main topics of the course are the following: (i) attosecond science and technology, devoted to the generation and application of attosecond pulses to the investigation of electronic dynamics in atoms, molecules, nanostructures and condensed phases; (ii) fundamentals, methods and applications of free electron lasers, synchrotron radiation, ion collisions in atomic and molecular science. Lectures will cover current developments in theory and experiments but are also intended to give the basics of the field.

Please note that, PhD students and post-docs willing to attend the school can apply for scholarships (deadline 30 January 2017). For more details see: http://www.erice-attosecond.it/registration

The school co-organised by XLIC COST Action and sponsored by Politecnico di Milano, Italian Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, Sicilian Regional Parliament, ELI-ALPS and Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture.

The organizers,

Louis Di Mauro, Alicja Domaracka, Mauro Nisoli and  Sergio Martellucci

The recent development of novel light sources like x-ray free-electron lasers and table-top lasers for high-harmonic generation, which are capable of delivering controllable sequences of intense sub-femtosecond ionizing pulses, has opened the way to monitor and control electron dynamics in atoms and molecules at its natural time scale, the attosecond (Chem. Rev. 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00453). The description of the coherent superposition of electronic continuum states that the interaction of such pulses with molecules generates goes beyond the capabilities of standard quantum-chemistry packages, which have been designed to describe the lowest bound states. Furthermore, stationary state-based pictures based on lowest-order perturbation theory are, in most cases, inapplicable. The purpose of this school is to introduce state-of-the-art ab-initio, hybrid and TDDFT numerical methods that can cope with ultra-fast dynamics in the electronic continuum of molecules, with an emphasis on unbound states in strong-fields and on the need to go beyond single-active-electron models to properly account for electron correlation. The course is directed to advanced master students, PhD students and young post-doctoral researchers in atomic and molecular physics, theoretical chemistry and applied mathematics, with an interest in developing new software for coherent control of electronic dynamics in systems of chemical interest.

The tutorial will be organized in 5 theoretical sessions and 4 practical sessions in the computer lab. Both theoretical and practical sessions will be of 4 hours. The school comprises four didactic blocks. The first block has an introductory character. It offers an overview of the field and a tutorial on strong field physics. The following three blocks focus on systems of increasing complexity and will be devoted to the description and use of new computational methods for fast time evolution in correlated systems in non-perturbative conditions (see description below). The school will end with a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art results in attosecond pump-probe and strong field molecular science obtained with ab initio “exact” simulations in small systems, on the one side, and with TD-DFT effective-field simulations, capable of coping with larger systems, on the other side. The future perspectives, challenges and mutual interaction of these two complementary approaches will be discussed.

More information: https://www.cecam.org/workshop-1552.html