Resonant X-ray Scattering of Intense Ultrafast Pulses

Motivated by recent experimental efforts to exploit resonant ultrafast x-ray scattering in single-particle imaging experiments, we theoretically investigate the scattering response from a Ne⁺ ion exposed to an intense short resonant x-ray pulse. The effect of Rabi oscillations on the single-atom scattering response is explored. The calculations reveal insights about the interference between the elastic scattering pathway and resonance fluorescence pathway which leave their signatures in the angular distribution and energy spectrum of scattered photons. The interference is also found to strongly depend on the pulse area and the initial state of Ne⁺ ion. The results suggest that coherent x-ray Rabi dynamics can be used to control the scattering response.