Imaging Density Disturbances in Water with a 41.3-Attosecond Time Resolution

We show that the momentum flexibility of inelastic x-ray scattering may be exploited to invert its loss function, allowing real time imaging of density disturbances in a medium. We show the disturbance arising from a point source in liquid water, with a resolution of 41.3 attoseconds (4.13×10^-17   s) and 1.27   Å (1.27×10^-8   cm). This result is used to determine the structure of the electron cloud around a photoexcited chromophore in solution, as well as the wake generated in water by a 9 MeV gold ion. We draw an analogy with pump-probe techniques and suggest that energy-loss scattering may be applied more generally to the study of attosecond phenomena.