Gone in 23 Attoseconds: Charge Transfer in Resonantly Core Excited Black Phosphorous

How fast processes can we measure? Attosecond physics address the limit of measurable time in science. Atomic X-ray excited states offers a way to study extremely fast dynamics with chemical specificity. In black phosphorous an X-ray excited electron can relocate in 22.7 attoseconds. Using the lifetime of the P 1s core-hole as time-base, the radiationless decay spectrum can be used to study charge transfer processes on the time-scale of the atomic unit of time (24 attoseconds). We demonstrate that the technique can be extended to within a few percent of the core hole's lifetime, an order of magnitude smaller than previously thought.

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