Unraveling Heterogeneity in X-ray Single Particle Imaging

Abstract

This dissertation presents methods to improve X-ray single-particle imaging (SPI) for recovering detailed 3D structures of nanoscale biomolecules — such as viruses and proteins — at synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron laser sources (XFELs). Specifically, it addresses challenges posed by structural heterogeneity in the sample of interest and high background noise akin to experiments, both of which significantly limit the achievable near-atomic resolution.