Imaging ultrafast electronic motion by x-ray scattering

Abstract: Time-resolved ultrafast x-ray scattering is an emerging approach to probe the temporally evolving electronic charge distribution in real-space and in real-time. In this contribution, time-resolved ultrafast x-ray scattering from an electronic wave packet is presented. It is shown that the spatial and temporal correlations are imprinted in the scattering patterns, obtained by ultrafast x-ray scattering from an electronic wave packet, which deviate drastically from the notion that the instantaneous electronic density is the key quantity being probed. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of ultrafast x-ray scattering from a sample containing a mixture of non-stationary and stationary electrons along with the role of scattering interference between a non-stationary and several stationary electrons to the total scattering signal is discussed.