Imaging instantaneous electron flow with ultrafast resonant x-ray scattering

Abstract

We propose a novel way to image dynamical properties of nonstationary electron systems using ultrafast resonant x-ray scattering. Employing a rigorous theoretical analysis within the framework of quantum electrodynamics, we demonstrate that a single scattering pattern from a nonstationary electron system encodes the instantaneous interatomic electron current in addition to the structural information usually obtained by resonant x-ray scattering from stationary systems. Thus, inelastic contributions that are indistinguishable from elastic processes induced by a broadband probe pulse, instead of being a concern, serve as an advantage for time-resolved resonant x-ray scattering. Thereby, we propose an approach combining elastic and inelastic resonant x-ray scattering for imaging dynamics of nonstationary electron systems in both real space and real time. In order to illustrate its power, we show how it can be applied to image the electron hole current in an ionized diatomic molecule.

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Theory of x-ray scattering from laser-driven electronic systems
• Imaging electron dynamics with time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy
• Imaging interatomic electron current in crystals with ultrafast resonant x-ray scattering
• Detecting coherent core-hole wave-packet dynamics in N2 by time- and angle-resolved inner-shell photoelectron spectroscopy
• Imaging Electron Dynamics with Ultrashort Light Pulses: A Theory Perspective
• Attosecond imaging of photo-induced dynamics in molecules using time-resolved photoelectron momentum microscopy