Quantum interferences induced by multiple scattering paths of the electron prior to emission in large molecules

Abstract

We theoretically investigate electron emission process from a dimer generated by swift highly charged ions. The process under consideration is dealt with a non-perturbative approach by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation on a two-dimensional spatial grid. Numerical calculations show rich structures related to the multiple scattering paths of the electron prior to emission. This manifests by the emergence of additional oscillations with high-frequency superimposed on the Young-type oscillatory structure in the observed electron-ejected spectrum. This is not the case when calculations are performed based on the superposition principle, in which the final wave function is just a coherent sum of component wave functions described the electron emission from two-independent atoms. Within this assumption, only a direct electron emission process is taken into account. We find that contributions arising from these multiple scattering paths modify the dynamic electron emission process, and therefore, show the incorrect applicability of the above-mentioned principle, in concordance with the recent findings based on a simple three-slit interference experiment, reported in Sawant et al. (2014).