2000 character limit reached
Diffractive imaging of transient electronic core-shell structures in a nanoplasma (1611.01074v2)
Published 3 Nov 2016 in physics.atm-clus
Abstract: We have recorded the coherent diffraction images of individual xenon clusters with intense extreme ultraviolet pulses to elucidate the influence of light-induced electronic changes on the diffraction pattern. Using the FLASH free-electron laser we tuned the wavelength to specific xenon atomic and ionic resonances. The data show the emergence of a transient core-shell structure within the otherwise homogeneous sample. Simulations indicate that ionization and nanoplasma formation result in a cluster shell with strongly altered refraction. The presented resonant scattering approach enables imaging of ultrafast electron dynamics on their natural time scale.