Zeptosecond to attosecond dynamics in atoms and possibility of generating a zeptosecond light source

Abstract In nuclear collisions, nuclear bremsstrahlung can cause nuclear Coulomb excitation via photon exchange in the projectile as well as the target nuclei. Such a process originating in nuclear timescales (zeptoseconds) can also influence the atomic phenomenon, which can be observed if it is delayed at least by a few attoseconds as atomic timescales ≥ an attosecond. We have found that this may happen due to a mechanism called the Eisenbud-Wigner-Smith (EWS) time delay process. We have estimated EWS time delays in atomic collisions utilizing the non-relativistic version of random phase approximation with exchange as well as Hartree–Fock methods. We present three representative collision systems through which one can experimentally observe the phenomena in attosecond timescales even though they originate from nuclear bremsstrahlung radiation occurring in zeptoseconds. Thus the present work represents an investigation of parallels between two neighboring areas of physics: atomic and nuclear physics. Furthermore the present work suggests the possibilities for atomic physics research near the Coulomb barrier energies, where the nuclear bremsstrahlung can be used as a zeptosecond x-ray source.