Prospects of high-resolution resonant X-ray inelastic scattering studies on solid materials, liquids and gases at diffraction-limited storage rings

Abstract

The spectroscopic technique of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) will particularly profit from immensely improved brilliance of diffraction-limited storage rings (DLSRs). In RIXS one measures the intensities of excitations as a function of energy and momentum transfer. DLSRs will allow for pushing the achievable energy resolution, signal intensity and the sampled spot size to new limits. With RIXS one nowadays probes a broad range of electronic systems reaching from simple molecules to complex materials displaying phenomena like peculiar magnetism, two-dimensional electron gases, superconductivity, photovoltaic energy conversion and heterogeneous catalysis. In this article the types of improved RIXS studies that will become possible with X-ray beams from DLSRs are envisioned.

High-energy resolution X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy reveals insight into unique selectivity of La-based nanoparticles for CO2

“…At the same time, the interaction of CO 2 with solids in the electrochemical cell or sensing device is rather complex, thus it remains challenging to experimentally identify the key elements determining their selectivity and efficiency. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) provide complementary information on the electronic structure of materials (9,10) and on the orbitals participating in the interaction with absorbing molecules (11). High-energy resolution fluorescence-detected (HERFD) XAS probes unoccupied states with a spectral resolution higher than regular XAS.…”

Rydberg-Resolved Resonant Inelastic Soft X-Ray Scattering: Dynamics at Core Ionization Thresholds

“…The method for using RIXS data to construct "absorption spectra with removed lifetime broadening" [12] is now widely applied [1]. Although the construction can be questioned in general [22], it is appropriate insofar as the present quasi-two-step model holds, and absorption features in the immediate vicinity of core thresholds may be observed by high-energy resolution fluorescence detection.…”

“…The high brilliance of new x-ray sources promises realization of the full potential of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) as a technique for investigation of materials and processes in fields ranging from fundamental atomic and molecular physics to materials science and biology [1][2][3]. Here, we address the RIXS phenomenology for excitation in the immediate vicinity of core ionization thresholds by analyzing the population of Rydberg states in the N2 molecule.…”

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering of a Ru photosensitizer: Insights from individual ligands to the electronic structure of the complete molecule

“…15 Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) can provide atomspecific information about the occupied and unoccupied valence orbitals of a molecule and the coupling between them. 16 It is therefore an ideal probe of the molecular electronic structure, which underpins electron dynamics and thus solar energy conversion mechanisms in molecular systems. 17 RIXS also provides a sensitive probe of molecular interactions such as hydrogen-bonding.…”