Resonant inelastic x-ray incarnation of Young's double-slit experiment.

ABSTRACT: Young's archetypal double-slit experiment forms the basis for modern diffraction techniques: The elastic scattering of waves yields an interference pattern that captures the real-space structure. Here, we report on an inelastic incarnation of Young's experiment and demonstrate that resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) measures interference patterns, which reveal the symmetry and character of electronic excited states in the same way as elastic scattering does for the ground state. A prototypical example is provided by the quasi-molecular electronic structure of insulating Ba₃CeIr₂O₉ with structural Ir dimers and strong spin-orbit coupling. The double "slits" in this resonant experiment are the highly localized core levels of the two Ir atoms within a

SUBMITTER: Revelli A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6357738 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature