Controlling X-ray emission with optical nanostructures

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sendonaris, Elina, Sloan, Jamison, Rivera, Nicholas, Kaminer, Ido, Soljačić, Marin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Sendonaris, Elina
Sloan, Jamison
Rivera, Nicholas
Kaminer, Ido
Soljačić, Marin
author_facet Sendonaris, Elina
Sloan, Jamison
Rivera, Nicholas
Kaminer, Ido
Soljačić, Marin
contents Nonlinear processes lie at the heart of many technologies such as frequency converters and entangled photon sources. Historically, observation and manipulation of these processes, for instance through nanostructures, has been limited to optical and lower frequencies. Recently, however, second-order nonlinear processes which couple X-ray and optical photons have been observed and used to probe the electronic structure and optical response of materials. Observing and controlling these processes remains challenging due to their low efficiency and the difficulty of fabricating devices with spatial features on the scale of X-ray wavelengths. Here, we show how optical nanostructures can be used to manipulate X-ray/optical nonlinear processes, using a quantum theory which describes these second-order nonlinear interactions. As an example, we show how photonic crystals shape both the spectral and spatial characteristics of X-rays emitted through X-ray to optical parametric down-conversion, leading to a fill-factor-normalized rate enhancement of 2.2 over an unstructured medium, in addition to control over the directionality of X-ray emission. The ability to control X-ray nonlinear processes may lead to more monochromatic, heralded X-ray sources, enhanced ghost imaging of lattice and electronic dynamics, and imaging and spectroscopy beyond the standard quantum limit. Our framework illuminates a path towards controlling quantum optical effects at X-ray frequencies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_22302
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Controlling X-ray emission with optical nanostructures
Sendonaris, Elina
Sloan, Jamison
Rivera, Nicholas
Kaminer, Ido
Soljačić, Marin
Optics
Nonlinear processes lie at the heart of many technologies such as frequency converters and entangled photon sources. Historically, observation and manipulation of these processes, for instance through nanostructures, has been limited to optical and lower frequencies. Recently, however, second-order nonlinear processes which couple X-ray and optical photons have been observed and used to probe the electronic structure and optical response of materials. Observing and controlling these processes remains challenging due to their low efficiency and the difficulty of fabricating devices with spatial features on the scale of X-ray wavelengths. Here, we show how optical nanostructures can be used to manipulate X-ray/optical nonlinear processes, using a quantum theory which describes these second-order nonlinear interactions. As an example, we show how photonic crystals shape both the spectral and spatial characteristics of X-rays emitted through X-ray to optical parametric down-conversion, leading to a fill-factor-normalized rate enhancement of 2.2 over an unstructured medium, in addition to control over the directionality of X-ray emission. The ability to control X-ray nonlinear processes may lead to more monochromatic, heralded X-ray sources, enhanced ghost imaging of lattice and electronic dynamics, and imaging and spectroscopy beyond the standard quantum limit. Our framework illuminates a path towards controlling quantum optical effects at X-ray frequencies.
title Controlling X-ray emission with optical nanostructures
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.22302