Time-Resolved sub-Ångström Metrology by Temporal Phase Interferometry near X-Ray Resonances of Nuclei

Phys Rev Lett. 2019 Oct 11;123(15):153902. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.153902.

Abstract

We introduce an analytical phase-reconstruction principle that retrieves atomic scale motion via time-domain interferometry. The approach is based on a resonant interaction with high-frequency light and does not require temporal resolution on the time scale of the resonance period. It is thus applicable to hard x rays and γ rays for measurements of extremely small spatial displacements or relative-frequency changes. Here, it is applied to retrieve the temporal phase of a 14.4 keV emission line of an ^{57}Fe sample, which corresponds to a spatial translation of this sample. The small wavelength of this transition (λ=0.86 Å) allows for determining the motion of the emitter on sub-Ångström length and nanosecond timescales.