Refraction and absorption of x rays by laser-dressed atoms

TL;DR

This paper investigates how laser-dressed neon atoms affect x-ray refraction and absorption, revealing electromagnetically induced transparency and opening new avenues for ultrafast x-ray pulse shaping.

Contribution

It introduces an ab initio theory for x-ray interactions with laser-dressed atoms and demonstrates EIT in neon at the 1s to 3p resonance.

Findings

Observation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for x rays

Potential for ultrafast x-ray pulse shaping

Theoretical framework applicable to strong-field optical problems

Abstract

X-ray refraction and absorption by neon atoms under the influence of an 800 nm laser with an intensity of 10^13 W/cm^2 is investigated. For this purpose, we use an ab initio theory suitable for optical strong-field problems. Its results are interpreted in terms of a three-level model. On the Ne 1s --> 3p resonance, we find electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for x rays. Our work opens novel perspectives for ultrafast x-ray pulse shaping.