Ultrafast optical pulses are an increasingly important tool for controlling quantum materials and triggering novel photo-induced phase transitions. Understanding these dynamic phenomena requires a probe sensitive to spin, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom. Time-resolved resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (trRIXS) is an emerging spectroscopic method, which responds to this need by providing unprecedented access to the finite-momentum fluctuation spectrum of photoexcited solids. In the latest issue of Communication Physics, Profs. Matteo Mitrano (Harvard) and Yao Wang (Clemson University) reviewed state-of-the-art trRIXS experiments on condensed matter systems, as well as recent theoretical advances, and describe future research opportunities in the context of light control of quantum matter.
Mitrano, M., Wang, Y. Probing light-driven quantum materials with ultrafast resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Comm Phys 3, 184 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-020-00447-6