2022/10/14 by Bilous, Pavlo
#Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2210.07708
The interplay of x-ray ionization and atomic and nuclear degrees of freedom is investigated theoretically in the process of laser-assisted nuclear excitation by electron capture. In the resonant process of nuclear excitation by electron capture, an incident electron recombines into a vacancy in the atomic shell with simultaneous nuclear excitation. Here we investigate the specific scenario in which the free electron and the required atomic shell hole are generated by an x-ray free electron laser pulse. We develop a theoretical description based on the Feshbach projection operator formalism and consider numerically experimental scenarios at the SACLA x-ray free electron laser. Our numerical results for excitation of the 29.2 keV nuclear state in 229Th and the 14.4 keV Mössbauer transition in 57Fe show low excitation rates but strong enhancement with respect to direct two photon nuclear excitation.